Illinois sues to stop National Guard deployment

The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued US President Donald Trump on Oct 6, seeking to block the deployment of federalised National Guard troops to Chicago, as hundreds of National Guard troops from Texas headed to the US' third-largest city.

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Mr Trump then escalated the widening clash with Democratic-led states and cities over the domestic use of military forces, threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act as a means to circumvent court restrictions on deploying troops where they are unwanted by local officials.

Illinois had sued in response to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth's orders over the weekend to bring 300 Illinois National Guard members under federal control and then to mobilise another 400 Texas National Guard troops for deployment to Chicago.

While Illinois' request for a temporary restraining order plays out, US lawyers told a court hearing on Oct 6 that Texas National Guard troops were already in transit to the state. Mr Trump then issued another memorandum calling up 300 Illinois National Guard troops, reinforcing Mr Hegseth's previous order.

US District Judge April Perry allowed the federal government to continue the deployment in Chicago while it responds to Illinois' suit. She set a deadline of midnight on Oct 8 for the US government to reply.

The Illinois dispute came after a federal judge in Oregon on Oct 5 temporarily blocked Mr Trump's administration from sending any National Guard troops to police the state's largest city, Portland.

Shortly after Judge Perry's ruling, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he might invoke the In-