Attorney General Knudsen leads 22-state coalition in support of President Trump’s response to violent rioters in Chicago

HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a 22-state coalition in supporting President Trump’s deployment of National Guard members to defend Chicago against violent protests and support law enforcement in deporting illegal immigrants.

The amicus brief filed Monday in Donald J. Trump, President of the United States v. State of Illinois and City of Chicago, asks the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court’s ruling that blocked President Trump’s order deploying federal service members to the city. Rioters in Chicago and cities across the country have threatened to harm Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, broken into federal facilities, and repeatedly disrupt agents from performing their job duties.

“The President’s decision to federalize the national guard to protect federal officers and property in Chicago has effects beyond the borders of Illinois; states and cities across the U.S. are benefited by this decision,” Attorney General Knudsen wrote.

President Trump’s actions are within his authority under federal law. The violent rioters in Chicago are harming federal officers and property. Meanwhile, local officials refuse to address the violence and hold the rioters accountable. President Trump determined that local law enforcement in the city is unable to execute federal laws and responded by deploying National Guard to assist federal officers.

“Given the prevalence of violence aimed at federal law enforcement, in Chicago and around the country, it is unsurprising that the President deployed National Guard resources to protect them from obstructions in their attempts to follow the law,” the brief states.

Attorney General Knudsen also notes to keep the violence and aggression towards ICE agents from spreading to other states, it needs to be stopped quickly. The President’s action of federalizing the National Guard furthers the public interest because it allows ICE agents to continue to perform their statutory duties of identifying, apprehending, and removing illegal aliens.

Attorneys general from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia also led the brief led by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Attorney General Knudsen.

Click here to read the brief