West Virginia Court to Review National Guard Deployment Lawsuit

Mon Nov 10 2025 16:41:45 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A lawsuit challenging the deployment of the West Virginia National Guard to patrol Washington, D.C., as urged by former President Trump will be heard in Charleston. This comes amid ongoing discussions and legal battles surrounding the deployment's legality.

A court in West Virginia is scheduled to hear arguments regarding a lawsuit filed by the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, which claims Governor Patrick Morrisey overstepped his authority in sending National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. The deployment, initiated in August, has led to questions about its legality under state and federal law, with claims that it may have disrupted the group's core mission of promoting government accountability.

A court in West Virginia is set to hear arguments in a lawsuit challenging the deployment of the state National Guard to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., following former President Trump’s directive to send military support into Democratic-led cities.

This hearing, taking place Monday afternoon, marks the third in a series of proceedings addressing the contentious deployment and its implications for state governance and authority.

The West Virginia Citizen Action Group has raised legal concerns, asserting that Gov. Patrick Morrisey exceeded his authority by dispatching up to 300 Guard members to Washington, D.C. The lawsuit argues that such deployment is permissible only under circumstances like responding to a natural disaster or another state's emergency plea.

As of last week, formal orders were issued that have extended the National Guard's presence in Washington through the end of February. Although the West Virginia National Guard indicated this deployment might last until the conclusion of November, there are ongoing discussions regarding a further extension.

State officials argue that the deployment is authorized under federal law. However, the civic group contends its operations have been hindered by the diversion of resources away from its mission of upholding transparency and accountability in government.

During the previous hearings, advocates for the civic organization claimed that the presence of the National Guard impedes their ability to fulfill core responsibilities. The attorney general's office, however, rebutted this claim, suggesting that the plaintiffs lack standing in this case.

Judge Richard Lindsay has indicated that the hearings will delve deeply into the legality of the deployment. The backdrop for the deployment includes the Trump administration's assertion of a crime emergency in D.C., despite data showing violent crime rates at their lowest level in 30 years.

In related developments, a federal court is also addressing requests from District of Columbia authorities to remove National Guard members from D.C. streets. These ongoing legal debates reflect a significant tension between state actions and federal oversight in response to crime and public safety issues.