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A federal judge in Oregon on Sunday temporarily barred the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard to Portland until at least Friday, ruling that there was “no credible evidence” protests in the city had spiraled out of control before the president ordered troops federalized earlier this fall.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, said the administration failed to demonstrate the legal conditions necessary for a domestic troop deployment, noting that most violence during the Portland protests stemmed from clashes between protesters and counter-protesters rather than attacks on federal property or personnel.
“Based on the trial testimony, this Court finds no credible evidence that during the approximately two months before the President’s federalization order, protests grew out of control or involved more than isolated and sporadic instances of violent conduct that resulted in no serious injuries to federal personnel,” Immergut wrote in her 16-page order.
The ruling came after a three-day trial and amid ongoing legal battles between the White House and several Democratic-led cities — including Portland and Chicago — challenging the administration’s efforts to use the National Guard to quell local protests. Immergut said she would issue a final ruling Friday, citing the “voluminous evidence” presented at trial, including more than 750 exhibits.
The city of Portland and the state of Oregon filed suit in September to block the deployment, arguing that the president’s move violated state sovereignty and failed to satisfy statutory criteria under the Insurrection Act. The administration has argued it acted lawfully to protect federal property and personnel.
Immergut’s order follows weeks of back-and-forth in the courts. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously paused one of her injunctions, but later vacated that pause and agreed to rehear the issue before an expanded 11-judge panel. Until then, an earlier appellate order remains in effect — federalizing the Guard but preventing its deployment.
During the trial, federal witnesses acknowledged they were “surprised” by the president’s decision to mobilize troops. A Federal Protective Service official testified that while a deployment might relieve staffing strain, he had neither requested the troops nor been consulted about the plan.
Attorneys for Oregon presented testimony that city police have been able to manage demonstrations, which peaked in June when Portland police declared a riot but have since dwindled in size. Senior Assistant Attorney General Scott Kennedy told the court that “none of these incidents suggest … that there’s a rebellion or an inability to execute the laws.”
Immergut previously described the president’s portrayal of Portland as “war-ravaged” with “fires all over the place” as “simply untethered to the facts.”
The case underscores a broader clash between the Trump administration and Democratic-led states over presidential powers to use military force domestically — a dispute that could set new legal precedent ahead of next year’s election.
