Summary
New York Post reports that DOJ is appealing a federal judge’s ruling blocking Trump’s deployment of the Oregon National Guard to protect federal buildings in Portland during anti-ICE protests. Judge Immergut (a Trump appointee) ruled the protests were “small and uneventful,” not the “war ravaged” state Trump described. Trump attempted to defy the court by deploying National Guard from California and Texas; judge blocked that too.
Key Points
- Judge Karin Immergut (Trump appointee): deploying active-duty troops would violate the Constitution and defy the Posse Comitatus Act (federal law barring military in domestic law enforcement)
- Immergut: “The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts” — protests at Portland ICE facility described as “small and uneventful”
- Trump’s Sept. 27 Truth Social post: described Portland as “war ravaged” with “Antifa and domestic terrorists”
- After Immergut’s ruling, Trump attempted to deploy National Guard from California and Texas instead; court blocked that too: “I see those as direct contravention of the order”
- Ninth Circuit (July 2025): had previously ruled Trump lawfully exercised authority taking control of California National Guard for LA anti-ICE protests
- White House: “very confident that we will win on the merits of the law”
Newsletter Angles
- The “untethered to the facts” judicial rebuke is striking — and from a Trump appointee, which makes it harder for the White House to dismiss as partisan
- The attempt to deploy out-of-state National Guard after losing the Oregon ruling is a court-defiance pattern: lose, reframe, attempt again. This is the playbook across multiple domains
Entities Mentioned
- Donald Trump — ordered the deployment; attempted to defy the court order
Concepts Mentioned
- Regulatory Weaponization — using military deployment against domestic protesters as political theater
- Institutional Gaslighting — describing peaceful protests as “war ravaged” to justify military response
Notes
New York Post. October 6, 2025. Sympathetic to Trump’s position but factually reported. Key for documenting court-defiance pattern re: National Guard deployments.