A judge on Monday allowed the continued deployment of more than 300 West Virginia National Guard members to the nation’s capital.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Richard D. Lindsay made the ruling after hearing arguments in a lawsuit by a civic organization.
Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey authorized the Guard’s deployment in August to support President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting efforts in Washington, D.C. The West Virginia Citizen Action Group then filed a lawsuit claiming Morrisey exceeded his authority.
Under state law, the group argued, the governor could deploy the National Guard out of state only for certain purposes, such as responding to a natural disaster or another state’s emergency request.
Morrisey’s office has argued the deployment was authorized under federal law.
Lindsay previously heard arguments in the case Oct. 24 and Nov. 3.
The civic group originally claimed that it was harmed by the deployment by being forced to refocus its resources away from government accountability and transparency. The state attorney general’s office sought to reject the case, saying the group has not been harmed and lacked standing to challenge Morrisey’s decision. Lindsay continued both of the previous hearings and ordered the state to specifically focus on whether what Morrisey did was lawful.
Trump issued an executive order in August declaring a crime emergency in the nation’s capital, although the Department of Justice itself says violent crime there is at a 30-year low.
Within a month, more than 2,300 Guard troops from eight states and the District of Columbia were patrolling under the Army secretary’s command. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist them.
While the West Virginia National Guard has said its deployment could last until the end of November, it is consulting with the governor’s office and others on the possibility of extending the stay. Formal orders were issued last week extending the deployment of the district’s National Guard in the city through the end of February.
