Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says his administration is prepared if President Donald Trump sends federalized troops to the state.
"I'm the former chief law enforcement officer of this commonwealth, and I understand what communities need to do to make people safe as governor," said Shapiro Tuesday, speaking with the press after an unrelated event.
After Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington D.C., the president announced Tuesday that he intended to deploy federal troops to Chicago and Baltimore.
Asked about that pronouncement, Shapiro told reporters in Philadelphia that violent crime is down in Pennsylvania, and any attempt to direct federal forces to U.S. cities is unconstitutional, as a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The Trump administration appealed that ruling Wednesday, with the president suggesting he may also target New Orleans.
" We've invested millions of dollars in not only policing, but in community organizations that have helped bring down violent crime by 42%," Shapiro said. "Now is not a time to disrupt that with distrust the way the President is doing in other communities."
Shapiro said there's no indication that the White House plans a federal intervention in Pennsylvania. But given how Trump has "acted outside the bounds of the law," Shapiro said the state is preparing for the possibility.
The issue reflects the long shadow Trump casts even over state governments. The campaign of state treasurer Stacy Garrity, the Republican Party establishment's favorite to challenge Shapiro next year, did not respond directly to a query from WESA about whether she favored the deployment of National Guard troops in Pennsylvania. Nor did she say whether she would call up Pennsylvania guard detachments for deployment to police other states, as Republican governors in Ohio and West Virginia have.
But in a statement, she said that "President Trump has shown that making America safe and cracking down on crime is a top priority."
Under Shapiro, the statement continued "Pennsylvania families are facing growing chaos and uncertainty in our streets," and it will take a Republican governor to "restore safety."
So far, the state's guard, under the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, has not been asked to participate in troop deployments domestically since Trump took office in January, according to a spokesperson.
Brent Landau, executive director of the Philly-based Public Interest Law Center, said Trump violated a federal law that prohibits the president from using federal troops to combat crime.
"The military can't be used to enforce domestic law, so that would be true in Los Angeles or Chicago or in Pennsylvania cities," Landau said. " Deployment of a federalized National Guard on the streets of Pennsylvania cities would be unwarranted and illegal."
Landau said Shapiro "would be in the best position to challenge" such a deployment in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. But he said civil-liberty groups might mount a legal challenge as well.
"The Public Interest Law Center will be watching and we will be prepared to act if there are violations of civil rights," Landau said. "If the governor, the mayor or other officials aren't able to prevent [federal deployment] then we'll be watching very carefully."
The Philadelphia Mayor's Office declined comment last week on the city's would-be response to a federal deployment there. But Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner last month condemned the Guard's presence in the nation's capital and said Philly, like other cities, is experiencing "historic lows in crime."
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