On August 11, President Trump initiated the deployment of 800 D.C. National Guardsmen to the nation’s capital. This move follows the invocation of Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, enabling the President to dispatch troops for 30 days. States such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia have pledged over 1,100 additional troops to support the D.C. Guards’ mission, with West Virginia leading the commitment. Altogether, nearly 2,000 troops may soon be present in D.C.
In a significant further development, the Department of Defense plans to send members of the Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) to D.C. to assist with prosecutions as special assistant U.S. attorneys. According to an exclusive report by NBC, twenty JAG officers are set to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia next week. Tim Lauer, a spokesman for that office, confirmed this detail but was unsure how long the JAG officers would serve.
The last deployment of the National Guard to D.C. occurred in 1983, noted Georgetown professor Steve Vladeck. At that time, the Supreme Court ruled the deployment violated a statute prohibiting military officers from holding civil office duties. In response, Congress quickly amended the law through the Department of Defense Authorization Act of 1984. These amendments refined the definitions of prohibited civil offices, allowing certain positions to be held by active-duty servicemembers.
In the recent case of Dalmazzi v. United States, the Supreme Court clarified that military officers could now legally hold civil office positions when assigned appropriately. Statute 973(b)(2)(B) specifically states that officers can exercise functions of civil office that fall outside previously defined restrictions.
Questions loom regarding the purpose of sending JAG officers to D.C. To many observers, the notion of these military prosecutors tackling misdemeanors raises eyebrows about their actual mission in the city. “Does anyone actually think that JAG are in D.C. to handle street crime?” remarked a commentator on social media, echoing a wider skepticism about the implications of this new deployment.
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