Veterans Demand Congress Pull Troops from American Cities

Troops do not belong on our streets.

That’s what more than 40 of my brothers and sisters in arms will tell Congress today. The ACLU, Common Defense, and the Chamberlain Network join these veterans on Capitol Hill, where they’re urging all our elected representatives to stop the Trump administration’s misuse of the military. We know that putting troops in our communities for political purposes breaks public trust and is disrespectful to their service.

This mobilization on Capitol Hill is a seminal moment for those pushing back on the Trump administration’s abuses of power -- and it’s one I relate to. My family has served this country for multiple generations. I’m a veteran myself, a former U.S. Army captain, and someone who feels strongly that we need to go to congresspeople, not wait for them to come to us.

When I was commissioned in 2000, it was uncommon for women to be assigned to combat arms branches, and I was one of only a handful of women assigned to the Field Artillery, a combat arms branch. Although other women officers were sent to work in training units, I fought for and won an assignment with a forces command (FORSCOM) unit, joined my unit shortly before September 11, 2001 and subsequently deployed in 2003. While most soldiers carried religious items on them, as a young Army officer deployed overseas, I had a pocket U.S. Constitution in the lining of my helmet because I believed so deeply in the values I swore an oath to defend.

This year marks the 250th birthday of the Army, Marines, and Navy. We can’t let our armed forces, which were created to defend our liberties, devolve into an arm of someone’s political pursuits. But that’s what we have seen take place this year. President Donald Trump and his administration have sent troops into our communities and enacted policies that roll back civil rights progress.

Already we’ve seen President Trump federalize National Guard troops and other service members to cities under the guise of keeping communities safe. Often, this is happening without the consent of state governors and officials. As a veteran, I am working every day to stop this abuse of power.

I’m joining the dozens of veterans on Capitol Hill for the same reason I first joined the military years ago: to protect and defend the Constitution. The oath didn’t end when I took off my uniform, and as commander in chief, President Trump also took an oath to protect the Constitution.
In the United States, the federal military should not be used for domestic law enforcement. That is a fundamental principle embodied in the Posse Comitatus Act, one that helps separate our democracy from dictatorships abroad. History shows what happens when we cross that line.

The tragedy at Ohio’s Kent State University in 1970, when National Guard troops shot at student demonstrators, proves that putting military troops in our communities can result in disastrous consequences. National Guard troops should be reserved for genuine emergencies, not deployed to our cities to serve the president’s political whims. Kent State continues to serve as a reminder of what happens when we comingle military troops and policing of civilians.

President Trump’s ongoing use of militarized force is not about safety; it’s about asserting power. Over the summer, his administration sent troops and armed federal agents into Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. His administration continues to threaten to send them to Chicago, and Portland despite objections from city and state leaders.

Military troops -- and armed federal agents in masks who appropriate military uniforms -- do not make our communities safer or safeguard our rights. These deployments erode the public’s trust in a non-partisan military when our neighbors struggle to understand why troops are patrolling their communities, or to distinguish between National Guard and federal agents. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents often wear military-style uniforms or gear, creating confusion that further erodes public trust. True safety comes from strong and supported communities, not from local militarization. That’s why so many veterans, active-duty service members, and military families have joined the ACLU and others in condemning these dangerous and escalatory actions.

Time and again, we’ve seen how, when the military crosses the line to civilian law enforcement, the fabric of our democracy decays. The Trump administration’s dangerous misuse of the military does not begin or end with troops deployed to our cities. It extends to the politicization of the military itself.

In September, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of senior military leaders to Quantico and delivered remarks attacking the principles of equity and accountability. President Trump followed with a disturbing address urging troops to use U.S. cities as “training grounds” to fight the “enemy within.” These are not the words of leaders strengthening national defense; this is a weaponization of the military that threatens our Constitution.

Secretary Hegseth’s agenda goes further. He has moved to weaken service members’ ability to report assault, harassment, and discrimination. He also called for combat standards to “return to the highest male standard,” even though all combat roles have been gender-neutral since 2016. He spent his first months in office purging the highest levels of the military of women leaders and Black senior officers, as well as axing the Women, Peace, and Security Program that was started in the president’s first term.
As one of the few women who served in a combat arms role before it officially opened up, these attempts to dismantle progress towards the military becoming more welcoming are barbaric. The strength of our military has always come from its professionalism and unity of purpose, not from political loyalty. When leaders use the armed forces to promote a partisan political agenda, they betray the values our service members swear to defend.

When we plague the military with politics, we reduce the effectiveness of a force that is supposed to be ready for real emergencies. Our troops deserve leadership that values service to the Constitution over service to any specific president. It’s what we took an oath to do.

America must be a place where everyone is safe in their neighborhoods and free to speak their minds. When troops are on our streets, we make one of our founders’ biggest fears – that a leader will send his army to police the people – a dangerous reality. Congress must act now to protect our freedoms by pulling troops out of our cities. It has the power to restrict any future deployments into our cities.

I stand with the veterans on Capitol Hill. We must lawfully protest troops on our streets and end the politicization of the military. I know my fellow veterans are not alone in asking our government to do right by our troops. All Americans must join together, on Capitol Hill and beyond, to urge the Trump administration to withdraw federal troops from our neighborhoods now.

Today, we sent a message to Congress in person doing exactly that. We urged them to co-sponsor the Military in Law Enforcement Accountability Act in the Senate and the National Guard Proper Use Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. These are vital steps to curbing the president’s ability to deploy National Guard troops for improper domestic law enforcement.

I am proud of my service to this country. Most of all, I want to ensure our military remains a respected institution in service to the people, not a single president, for the next 250 years.