LDF Files Amicus Brief Urging Court to Protect D.C. Residents from National Guard

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed an amicus brief in District of Columbia v. Trump, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold the preliminary injunction issued by the District Court, which had ordered a temporary end to the National Guard deployment in Washington D.C.

The District Court's decision followed a pattern of court decisions issuing injunctions to stop National Guard deployments across the country because of the substantial likelihood they are illegal or unconstitutional.

The brief argues that the deployment of National Guard to D.C. causes irreparable harm to its residents, especially its Black residents.

"The presence of National Guard troops serves no public safety interest, stokes fear in D.C. residents, and draws from a long history of using militarized policing to target Black communities," said Johanna Steinberg, Of Counsel at LDF. "The Trump administration has deployed the National Guard under the false pretense of quelling an imaginary crime emergency, despite evidence to the contrary. We are hopeful that the Court of Appeals halts the administration's continued attempts to advance an authoritarian regime that relies on military and police power and causes harm to Black communities."

In September 2025, LDF filed an amicus brief urging the District Court to grant the preliminary injunction and prevent further harm to Black communities arising out of a military presence in the District. The District Court issued its preliminary injunction on November 20, 2025.

In December 2025, LDF filed an amicus brief urging the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to deny the Trump administration's request to stay the District Court's preliminary injunction. The Court of Appeals granted the stay on December 17, 2025.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights law organization. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957-although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.