Whereas under the Constitution of the United States, each state’s National Guard is a defensive force controlled by the governor, but can be called up for federal duty by the federal government, provided that said duty is pursuant to the Constitution of the United States; and,
Whereas the National Guard is a state militia, not a federal police force; and,
Whereas most mobilizations of the National Guard, including supporting Customs and Border Protection as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, fall under Title 32 of the U.S. Code where control is retained by the governors of the states; and,
Whereas Title 10 of the U.S. Code provides for the president to call the National Guard into federal service during extraordinary situations such as invasion by a foreign nation or rebellion against the U.S. government; and,
Whereas in 1878 the Posse Comitatus Act was passed which prohibits federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement except when expressly authorized by law, including the National Guard when called up for federal duty; and,
Whereas on January 28, 2024, the Libertarian Party of Georgia adopted A Resolution to Call for Defend the Guard Legislation; and,
Whereas on February 10, 2025, the Libertarian Party of Georgia adopted A Resolution to Support the Defend the Guard Act of 2025 – 2026; and,
Whereas the Defend the Guard Act is intended to prevent the abuse of the National Guard by unconstitutional federal deployments; and,
Whereas on June 7, 2025, President Donald Trump deployed the California National Guard to the City of Los Angeles in response to protests regarding immigration raids over the objections of the governor of California; and,
Whereas on August 11, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14333 declaring a crime emergency in the District of Columbia and deployed the District of Columbia National Guard; and,
Whereas on September 2, 2025, a federal court ruled that President Trump’s use of the National Guard in Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act; and,
Whereas in late September of 2025, President Trump declared that the City of Portland was “war ravaged” despite no state of war existing; and,
Whereas on October 4, 2025, a federal court temporarily blocked President Trump from federalizing the Oregon National Guard and deploying it to the City of Portland after the governor of Oregon objected; and,
Whereas on October 5, 2025, President Trump attempted to circumvent the court order by deploying the California National Guard and Texas National Guard to the City of Portland; and,
Whereas on November 7, 2025, a federal court ruled that deploying federalized National Guard units to the City of Portland exceeded the president’s authority and made the temporary block permanent; and,
Whereas President Trump has established a clear pattern of pushing the boundaries of presidential authority while ordering the deployment of the National Guard to U.S. cities against the wishes of both the governors of the states the National Guard units are from as well as the state and local governments of where they are being deployed; and,
Whereas the situations which President Trump has claimed as justification for deploying the National Guard over the objections of the states do not rise to the extraordinary situations envisioned by Title 10; and,
Whereas Donald Trump is not a libertarian and has continued to embrace authoritarian tendencies throughout his second term; and,
Whereas this pattern of behavior constitutes abuse of the National Guard;
Therefore, be it resolved, that the Libertarian Party of Georgia condemns President Trump’s abuse of the National Guard.
