By Steven Allen Adams
For The Intelligencer
CHARLESTON — The remaining West Virginia National Guard members deployed on a volunteer basis to the nation’s capital, as well as units deployed to Washington, D.C., by other states, can remain in D.C. following a stay issued by a federal appeals court.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order Wednesday granting a motion filed on behalf of President Donald Trump for a stay pending a full appeal of a lower federal court ruling that determined that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in D.C. was unlawful.
“Because the District of Columbia is a federal district created by Congress, rather than a constitutionally sovereign entity like the 50 States, the Defendants appear on this early record likely to prevail on the merits of their argument that the President possesses a unique power within the District,” the order stated.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order Wednesday granting a motion filed on behalf of President Donald Trump for a stay pending a full appeal of a lower federal court ruling that determined that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in D.C. was unlawful.
“Because the District of Columbia is a federal district created by Congress, rather than a constitutionally sovereign entity like the 50 States, the Defendants appear on this early record likely to prevail on the merits of their argument that the President possesses a unique power within the District,” the order stated.
Answering Trump’s request for Guard units, Gov. Patrick Morrisey sent approximately 400 West Virginia National Guard members to D.C. in August as part of Operation D.C. Safe and Beautiful. Most of those Guard members have returned to West Virginia as of mid-November, with approximately 160 West Virginia Guard members volunteering to stay in D.C. until at least the end of December.
On Nov. 26, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Spc. Sarah Beckstrom were ambushed and shot while on patrol at the Farragut Square Metro Station near the White House. Beckstrom, 20, of Nicholas County died on Thanksgiving Day of her wounds and was buried at West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton on Dec. 10. Wolfe, 24, of Berkeley County, is transitioning from acute care to inpatient rehabilitation after being shot in the head.
The suspect, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, of Washington State, was charged on Dec. 2 with first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He is being held without bond and remains in a D.C. hospital after being shot following the ambush.
The D.C. city government filed a lawsuit on Sept. 4 against Trump, the Department of Defense, the Justice Department, the U.S. Army and other federal agencies seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the continued deployment of Guard units in D.C. A federal district court granted the preliminary injunction on Nov. 20 and rejected a motion from the Trump administration to dismiss the case.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia stayed its own decision to provide time for an appeal, then granted an administrative appeal on Dec. 4. In its Wednesday order, the D.C. Court of Appeals found that allowing the preliminary injunction to remain in place would be disruptive.
“Absent a stay, the preliminary relief is likely to result in a profound level of disruption to the lives of thousands of service members who have been deployed for four months already, and the President’s order implicates a strong and distinctive interest in the protection of federal governmental functions and property within the Nation’s capital,” the judges wrote.
The National Guard units from West Virginia and other states were deployed under United States Code Title 32 502(f), which allows the secretaries of the Army or Air Force to call up National Guard units from other states for training or other duties. This authority is used for national disasters or national security missions.
The three-judge appeals panel ruled that while use of National Guard units under Title 32 authority in other states without the expressed approval of those states would be unlawful, the Title 32 deployment of Guard units in D.C. was within the bounds of federal law given the status of Washington, D.C.
“In short, because of the District’s unique constitutional status as a federal territory, the Nation’s Capital, and the seat of federal government, as well as the President’s consent to receive these forces, the Defendants have demonstrated that the district court likely erred in concluding that the deployment of out-of-state guard members to the District raised a serious federalism question under the Constitution,” the order stated.
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