‘Political opposition is not rebellion’: Appeals court rejects Trump’s rationale for Chicago troop deployment

 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/16/trump-national-guard-chicago-ruling-00612918

A federal appeals court has extended an order blocking President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops in Chicago, saying the administration is unable to show that there is an organized rebellion nor that officials are otherwise unable to uphold law and order in the city.

The panel — which consisted of a Trump appointee, an Obama appointee and a George H. W. Bush appointee — also rejected the administration’s argument that federal courts have no power to review a president’s underlying determinations in deciding to federalize troops. That question of judicial authority has cropped up in several similar lawsuits challenging deployments in Democrat-run cities.

A protest does not transform into a “rebellion” just because protesters are well-organized, advocate to overhaul the structure of government or use civil disobedience, Judges Ilana Rovner, David Hamilton and Amy St. Eve wrote. Nor do isolated incidents of criminality or violence convert a protest into a rebellion or generalized lawlessness, they added.