Washington, Sep 5 (NationPress) Washington, D.C. has initiated a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding the deployment of National Guard troops within the capital, as stated by the district's Attorney General Brian Schwalb.

"We are taking legal action to prevent the unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to D.C.," Schwalb shared on Thursday via the social media platform X.

"This forced military presence in the District of Columbia infringes upon our local autonomy and fundamental rights. It has to cease immediately."

The Attorney General's office contends that this deployment breaches the Home Rule Act, which permits local governments, such as municipalities or districts, to self-govern and exercise authority within their administrative boundaries, according to Xinhua news agency.

This lawsuit comes less than a month after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on August 11, authorizing the deployment of the National Guard to D.C. to assist in restoring law and order and safeguarding public safety.

In addition to the initial 800 National Guard personnel, six Republican-led states have backed the President's initiative by dispatching extra troops, resulting in a total of over 2,000 personnel in D.C.

The D.C. lawsuit follows a recent legal victory for the Democrat-controlled state of California earlier this week.

On Tuesday, District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled that the Trump administration had violated a 19th-century statute prohibiting the use of soldiers for civilian law enforcement when it sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June.

Schwalb, a member of the Democratic Party, pointed out that the National Guard deployment not only jeopardizes public safety but also negatively impacts the district's economy by adversely affecting critical sectors like restaurants, hotels, and tourism.

The Trump administration has argued that the deployment has contributed to a reduction in violent crime within the district.

Data from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department revealed that homicide rates last year were at their lowest since the 2020 pandemic.

Homicide rates in 2024 were 68% lower than the record highs seen in the 1990s, declining from around 80 homicides per 100,000 residents to about 25 per 100,000, according to FBI crime statistics.

However, these rates in the previous year were almost double those of 2012, a year that marked a 50-year low in homicide rates per capita in the nation’s capital.

Trump has pledged to send the National Guard to other cities across the U.S.

He initially informed reporters on Tuesday that the Guard would be "deployed to" Chicago, which he referred to as a "hellhole" and "the murder capital of the world."