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As Suit Filed Over Memphis, Trump Takes Chicago National Guard Fight to Supreme Court
"Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy," said Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Oct 17, 2025
While Tennessee elected officials sued over Republican Gov. Bill Lee deploying the National Guard in Memphis at the request of President Donald Trump, the White House on Friday escalated a battle about a similar deployment push in Illinois to the US Supreme Court.
Illinois and Chicago's top attorneys are challenging Trump's attempt to federalize and deploy National Guard soldiers from the state and Texas amid the administration's anti-immigrant "Operation Midway Blitz" in and around the nation's third-largest city. US District Judge April Perry, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, last week issued a temporary restraining order.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit—featuring judges appointed by Trump as well as former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama—paused Perry's decision on federalization of Guard troops but unanimously upheld her block on their deployment, declaring that "political opposition is not rebellion."
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul called the 7th Circuit's order "another win for the people of Illinois and the rule of law in our state," and welcomed that "National Guard troops will not be seen patrolling the city of Chicago, Broadview, or other communities throughout Illinois."
"The responsibility of addressing local crime continues to fall to state and local law enforcement officers who are best trained to protect their communities," he added. "There is no need for troops in the state of Illinois, and my office will continue to vigorously oppose the administration's unlawful overreach."
Now, the Trump administration is appealing to the country's top court, which has a right-wing supermajority that includes three Trump appointees. In the application, Solicitor General John Sauer asks the justices to stay Perry's injunction, which was sought by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago, so the president can immediately deploy troops.
According to the Chicago Tribune:
The 43-page petition also asked for an immediate administrative stay "given the pressing risk of violence," but the court had taken no action on that as of 5:00 pm Friday.
The filing said Illinois' resistance to a National Guard deployment mirrors similar actions still unfolding in California and Oregon. It asked that President Donald Trump be allowed to deploy some 700 troops in Illinois—300 from the Illinois National Guard and another 400 federalized out of Texas earlier this month.
The Supreme Court asked lawyers for Illinois to respond by 5:00 pm Eastern time on Monday.
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a frequent critic of the president, said on social media Friday that "Donald Trump will keep trying to invade Illinois with troops—and we will keep defending the sovereignty of our state. Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy. What will come next?"
Meanwhile, in Tennessee, seven elected Democrats—Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Memphis City Councilmember JB Smiley Jr., Shelby County Commissioners Henri Brooks and Erika Sugarmon, state Reps. GA Hardaway (93) and Gabby Salinas (96), and state Sen. Jeff Yarbro (21)—filed a lawsuit and motion for immediate relief over Lee's "patently unlawful" deployment.
The plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward, National Immigration Law Center, and Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, which submitted a complaint to the Davidson County Chancery Court arguing that "defendants have trampled on Tennessee law by unilaterally deploying Tennessee National Guard members in Memphis as a domestic police force."
Smiley, who's also an attorney, said in a statement that "Lee's decision to send the National Guard into Memphis at President Trump's request isn't leadership…it's illegal. The governor has disregarded our laws to deploy troops to intimidate our city, and the president's talk of using communities like Memphis as training grounds is dangerous and dehumanizing. Memphis deserves to be respected, not treated like the playground of an out-of-control dictator."
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, tied the current conditions in Memphis to other US communities—more than 2,700 of which are planning "No Kings" protests against Trump's increasing authoritarianism on Saturday.
"Yet, again, the president and his allies are engaged in an unlawful and harmful use of military force in an American city. There has been no invasion or rebellion in Memphis, which is the prerequisite for National Guard deployment," Perryman said. "The people of Tennessee deserve leaders who respect the limits of their office and the rule of law. Using military forces in our cities and communities without legal justification threatens democracy and puts communities at risk."
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Trump Deploying National Guard to Memphis Called 'Cruel Intimidation Tactic'
“When military troops police civilians, we have an intolerable threat to individual liberty and the foundational values of this country,” said the head of the ACLU's National Security Project.
Sep 16, 2025
Leaders at the ACLU on Tuesday joined other rights advocates and elected Democrats in condemning US President Donald Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard to Memphis with a Monday order he signed beside Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
“When military troops police civilians, we have an intolerable threat to individual liberty and the foundational values of this country,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project, in a statement.
“President Trump may want to normalize armed forces in our cities, but no matter what uniform they wear, federal agents and military troops are bound by the Constitution and have to respect our rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech, and due process," Shamsi continued. "State and local leaders must stay strong and take all lawful measures to protect residents against this cruel intimidation tactic.”
While Lee expressed his gratitude to Trump for the order, some other elected officials in Tennessee have spoken out since Trump previewed his plans for Memphis on "Fox & Friends" last Friday.
The Associated Press reported on local opposition Monday:
“I did not ask for the National Guard, and I don’t think it’s the way to drive down crime,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young told a news conference Friday while acknowledging the city remained high on too many “bad lists.”
Young has also said that now the decision is made, he wants to ensure he can help influence the Guard’s role. He mentioned possibilities such as traffic control for big events, monitoring cameras for police and undertaking beautification projects.
At a news conference Monday, some local Democrats urged officials to consider options to oppose the deployment. Tami Sawyer, Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk, said the city or county could sue.
State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-86), whose district includes parts of the city, declared, “We need poverty eradication, not military occupation!”
Denouncing Trump's targeting of Memphis on MSNBC, Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said that "having the National Guard here is unnecessary and it is a stunt. It's just a Trump show, to show his power and his force."
"I think this may be the first representation of his changing the Department of Defense to the Department of War, because he likes to put the National Guard at his direction, as his being the great warrior, into cities and going to war," he added.
According to a White House fact sheet, Trump's memorandum tasks Secretary of War Pete Hegseth with requesting Lee "make Tennessee National Guard units available to support public safety and law enforcement operations in Memphis," and further directs Hegseth to "coordinate with state governors to mobilize National Guard personnel from those states to support this effort."
The order also "establishes a Memphis Safe Task Force tasked with ending street and violent crime in Memphis to the greatest possible extent, including by coordinating closely with state and local officials in Tennessee, Memphis, and neighboring jurisdictions to share information, develop joint priorities, and maximize resources to make Memphis safe and restore public order."
🪡Governor Bill Lee, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Rep. David Kustoff, and Sen. Brent Taylor have chosen fear-mongering and authoritarianism over real solutions. They voted to gut healthcare and food security from Memphians. Sending troops will not fix the failures they created.
— Indivisible Memphis (@indivisiblememphis.bsky.social) September 14, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Trump has already deployed the National Guard to Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, California, and threatened to do so in Chicago, Illinois, where his deadly "Operation Midway Blitz" targeting immigrants is already underway.
"Expanding military involvement into US civilian law enforcement is dangerous and unwarranted," Tanya Greene, US program director at Human Rights Watch, said Tuesday. "The Trump administration's continued deployment of military forces in cities with populations primarily comprised of people of color, like Memphis, risks exacerbating violence against immigrants, unhoused people, and poor people in general."
"While communities desperately need food, affordable housing, and healthcare," she added, "hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are being squandered on these deployments."
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Reappointed Justin Pearson Vows to Fight on Against Tennessee GOP That Expelled Him
"The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can't expel hope. You can't expel justice. You can't expel our voice. And you sure can't expel our fight," the representative declared. "Let's get back to work."
Apr 12, 2023
This is a developing story… Please check back for possible updates...
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to reappoint Democratic Rep. Justin Pearson to represent District 86 in the Tennessee House of Representatives nearly a week after Republican lawmakers expelled him and Rep. Justin Jones over a protest demanding stricter gun laws.
Pearson's reinstatement—following a prayer by his father, a pastor—came after the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously Monday night to reappoint Jones (D-52). While the GOP-controlled House expelled both young Black lawmakers, the resolution to oust Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-13), who is white and also joined the protest, narrowly failed.
"Nashville thought they could silence democracy. But they didn't know the Shelby County Commission was filled with some courageous leaders," Pearson said in a speech after his reappointment, highlighting that the board's 7-0 vote came in spite of alleged threats to reduce state resources to the region. Six of the 13 board members were not present for the meeting, including the four Republicans.
\u201cJust a colossal miscalculation from Tennessee Republicans. \n\nThe only thing they accomplished by expelling two members was 1) grow the members\u2019 warchests and audiences and 2) draw intense scrutiny on the @TNGOP\u2019s recent history of racism and corruption.\u201d— Kyle Tharp (@Kyle Tharp) 1681325543
Wednesday's vote shows that "we do not speak alone, we speak together; we fight together," Pearson declared.
"And so the message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can't expel hope. You can't expel justice. You can't expel our voice. And you sure can't expel our fight," he added. "We look forward to continuing to fight, continuing to advocate, until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an everflowing stream. Let's get back to work."
\u201cOn the road back to Nashville from Memphis.\n\nThe people of District 52 and 86 have representation again, but make no mistake\u2014democracy is still in crisis in Tennessee.\n\nWelcome home, brother. The Tennessee Three will be back in the PEOPLE\u2019S HOUSE! @Justinjpearson @VoteGloriaJ \ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffe\u201d— Rep. Justin Jones (@Rep. Justin Jones) 1681341283
Jones tweeted Wednesday that "the people of District 52 and 86 have representation again, but make no mistake—democracy is still in crisis in Tennessee."
Ahead of the vote to send him back to Nashville, Pearson—joined by Johnson and Jones—addressed a crowd at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, before marching to the Shelby County Commission meeting.
\u201cWe are marching to the Shelby County Comission with the people. People Power is greater than any power that attempts to suppress it!\u201d— Justin J. Pearson (@Justin J. Pearson) 1681323173
Pearson also wrote Wednesday in a New York Times opinion piece that "it's not just our individual voices that were sanctioned and silenced last Thursday. It was the voices of the nearly 135,000 Tennesseans we represented—many desperate for protection from the absence of many commonsense gun safety laws in our state."
Pearson noted that "since the Covenant School shooting, the Republican supermajority in the state House has done little but advance a bill that would allow teachers to carry guns in school and propose a $140 million budget increase to pay for the presence of armed guards in public schools, further militarizing them without adequate evidence that this makes schools safer."
"Besides expanding already expansive gun rights, Republican-led statehouses across the country are proposing and passing staggering numbers of bills that serve a fringe, white evangelical agenda that abrogates the rights and freedoms of the rest of us," he added, pointing to GOP attacks on trans children, the social safety net, abortion access, and voting rights.
\u201c"We have a nation in pain and peril," writes @Justinjpearson.\n\n"We and the young protesters are the future of a new Tennessee. Those who seek to silence us will not have the final say." https://t.co/oxOzkUrkAe\u201d— Institute for Policy Studies (@Institute for Policy Studies) 1681308963
"I was elected early this year by the people of Memphis and Millington to stand up for all of us against encroachments on our freedoms. I will continue to fight with and for our people, whether in or out of office," Pearson vowed. "We and the young protesters are the future of a new Tennessee. Those who seek to silence us will not have the final say."
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) along with Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on Wednesday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the expulsions violated any constitutional rights of Jones, Pearson, or the Tennessee citizens they represent.
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