ACLU files lawsuit over WV National Guard deployment to DC

by Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch
August 21, 2025

Community advocates who oppose Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s deployment of the West Virginia National Guard to support President Donald Trump’s crackdown in the nation’s capital have filed a lawsuit challenging the move.  

The ACLU of West Virginia filed the complaint Thursday in Kanawha County Circuit Court on behalf of West Virginia Citizen Action Group. It lists Morrisey and Maj. General James Seward as defendants. 

“This action challenges an unprecedented and unlawful deployment of West Virginia National Guard forces beyond our state’s borders — not to defend against invasion, not to respond to natural disaster, not to assist a sister state’s emergency request — but to serve as political props in a manufactured crisis,” the group says in the complaint.

“West Virginia law is clear: The governor may deploy the National Guard outside our borders only for specific, enumerated purposes — none of which exist here,” they write. 

The complaint argues that Morrisey exceeded his constitutional and statutory authority with the deployment. The state code that governs National Guard deployments was shaped by legal battles after the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, where National Guard troops were deployed against U.S. citizens, ACLU-WV Legal Director Aubrey Sparks said in a news release. 

“The Guard’s services are indispensable to West Virginia, and sending these vital resources out of state to participate in a political stunt by the president is unprecedented, unconscionable, and unlawful,” Sparks said. “Neither state law nor our Constitution permits this deployment.” 

The lawsuit seeks to “restore the rule of law” and return Guard members to their “proper role” of serving West Virginia families and communities, a news release says. 

In a statement, Dani Parent, Executive Director of WV CAG, said the organization has deep concerns about the deployment to DC.

“As an organization with over 50 years of advocating and organizing West Virginians for accountability, justice, and good governance, we believe that the use of West Virginia’s National Guard troops in this context is a clear misuse of power,” Parent said. “The Guard exists to serve West Virginians in times of crisis, and this action appears to be motivated by partisanship and to appease the current federal administration.

“Sending our Guard out of state for political posturing serves only to divert critical resources needed here at home,” Parent said. “The Governor’s priority should be in serving West Virginians, not political grandstanding.”

Morrisey announced Saturday his plans to send between 300 and 400 skilled personnel from the West Virginia National Guard to Washington, D.C. along with “mission-essential equipment” to assist in Trump’s federal takeover of policing there.

Trump has declared a “public safety emergency” in Washington, D.C., mobilizing the local National Guard to “take back” the capital from what he described as violent criminals. Washington’s elected officials have objected to the president’s claims about the city’s crime. Last year the Department of Justice, under then-President Joe Biden, said D.C. crime had hit a 30-year low. 

Trump’s Department of Justice has reportedly launched an investigation into whether the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department manipulated crime data. 

“West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” Morrisey said in a news release Saturday. “The men and women of our National Guard represent the best of our state, and this mission reflects our shared commitment to a strong and secure America.” 

West Virginia Democrats called the deployment “political theatre.”

West Virginia is one of six Republican-led states that are sending a total of more than 1,000 National Guard members to D.C.

Trump has also activated 800 members from D.C.’s National Guard. 

The legal action was assigned to Kanawha Circuit Judge Richard Lindsay.

“The West Virginia National Guard was mobilized at the request of the President under the authority in United States Code, Title 32 502(f),” a spokesman for Morrisey wrote in an email to West Virginia Watch. “West Virginia is proud to support our neighbors and the Commander-in-Chief when called upon. ”

This story has been updated to include a comment from Morrisey’s office.

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.