Protesters demonstrate near members of the National Guard as they stand watch outside Union Station in Washington, DC, on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP)
A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump’s deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard troops to police Washington, DC, is illegal and must come to an end.
Over objections from city officials, Trump ordered the troops to flood the nation’s capital in August to deter what he claimed was an unstoppable crime wave, even though crime was falling precipitously and was at a 30-year low.
Federal District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote that the Trump administration “exceeded the bounds of their authority” and “acted contrary to law” by deploying the National Guard “for nonmilitary, crime-deterrence missions in the absence of a request from the city’s civil authorities.”
She wrote that while Trump is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Trump’s legal authority to deploy troops around the country is subject to limits by Congress, especially in DC, where it has the ultimate authority under the Constitution.
She wrote that the court “rejects defendants’ fly-by assertion of constitutional power, finding that such a broad reading of the president’s Article II authority would erase Congress’ role in governing the district and its National Guard.”
Cobb also said that the Pentagon lacked statutory authority to deploy more than 1,000 out-of-state National Guard members to DC. She wrote that “the district’s exercise of sovereign powers within its jurisdiction is irreparably harmed by defendants’ actions in deploying the guards.”
While finding the administration’s actions illegal, Cobb said it will not be required to pull back troops immediately. She gave the administration until December 11 to file an appeal.
“There is generally no public interest in the perpetuation of unlawful agency action,” Cobb concluded. “There is a substantial public interest in having governmental agencies abide by the federal laws that govern their existence and operations.”
The ruling follows a lawsuit in early September from the office of DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb.
“The court has ruled that the National Guard deployment to DC is illegal and granted a preliminary injunction,” Schwalb said after the ruling was handed down. “As we made clear from the start: The US military should not police American citizens on American soil. This is a victory for DC, home rule, and American democracy.”
The ruling comes amid legal battles over Trump’s moves to deploy the National Guard in other US cities. The US Supreme Court is expected to soon weigh in on his deployment in Chicago, even as some troops sent to Illinois are headed home.
“Normalizing the use of military troops for domestic law enforcement sets a dangerous precedent,” Schwalb continued. “No president should be empowered to disregard states’ independence and deploy troops anywhere—with no check on their military power. This federal overreach is not normal or legal.”
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Protesters march through uptown after gathering at First Ward Park for the “No Border Patrol In Charlotte” rally on November 15, 2025 in North Carolina’s largest city. (Photo by Grant Baldwin/Getty Images)
“I want to keep my neighbors protected because they deserve protection and they deserve to live in a world where they’re not scared,” said one woman patrolling the streets of Charlotte with a whistle.
Backlash against the Trump administration’s assault on immigrant communities—in which some US citizens are also getting caught up—is growing in Charlotte, North Carolina this week, as over 30,000 students staged walkouts to protest the federal invasion, people rallied to condemn the arrest of day laborers, and communities mobilized to protect their friends and neighbors targeted by federal agents.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Home Depot on North Wendover Road Wednesday morning, lining both sides of the street, holding signs supporting immigrants and denouncing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, and cheering as motorists honked in support.
The protest came on the fifth—and reportedly penultimate—day of Operation Charlotte’s Web, which the Department of Homeland Security claimed targeted the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.” The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that it has been informed by federal officials that Operation Charlotte’s Web has wrapped up.
Over 100 people are protesting outside The Home Depot on Wendover Road in east Charlotte, calling on the company to stop allowing CBP & ICE onto their property to carry out operations against immigrants. pic.twitter.com/gMyTHODYte
The administration’s “worst of the worst” claim does not seem supported in the vast majority of the hundreds of arrests made in the Charlotte area, as ICE and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have targeted locations including a church, grocery stores, construction sites, homes, and hardware store parking lots where day laborers gather every morning in search of work.
“From guns being drawn on pedestrians, windows broken at restaurants and US citizens being detained and later released, it is clear that CBP’s main mission is to disrupt public safety and everyday life in Charlotte,” Zamara Saldivar of the Carolina Migrant Network toldWFAE at the Home Depot protest.
Protester Norm Perreault told the CharlotteObserver that “they say they’re deporting the worst of the worst, but day laborers are the best of the best.”
“We are here to support the immigrant community,” said former Charlotte mayor Jennifer Roberts.
Former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat, was also at the Home Depot demonstration, where she declared: “We are here to support the immigrant community. We know they’re an integral part of our economy, education, culture, and growth.”
“It’s time for them to leave,” Roberts said of the federal invaders. “We need business to get back to normal. We need our schools to be able to educate our children.”
On Monday, an estimated 30,000 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students walked out of their classrooms in protest of the crackdown. Students marched, held signs, and chanted messages including, “No borders, no nations, stop the deportations!”
Wow. Thirty thousand students just walked out in Charlotte to protest ICE. When kids are willing to shut down an entire city to push back on state power, that’s a political awakening. pic.twitter.com/zx2wVhlmB8
“It’s stressful seeing my mom ‘cuz, like, she struggled with bills already going to work. I mean, even without her going to work, she’s struggling even more.” said one unidentified student protester from East Mecklenburg High School toldWCNC, discussing his family’s fear of being targeted during the crackdown.
Another unidentified East Mecklenburg High student lamented “little kids losing their parents by ICE and getting taken, seeing them cry, and that, like, it breaks my heart seeing them like that.”
East Mecklenburg High multilingual teacher David Gillespie toldWJBF that “a school should be a safe place for a child to come. They should be able to come here to get their education, they should be able to come here and spend time with their friends, socialize, they should feel secure.”
“I’m not sure which of my students I’m going to see again,” Gillespie said in a separate interview with WCNC. “Whether because their parents were involved in detainments or because their parents have to make that unfortunate safety calculus—Is it worth it to send my kids to school and put myself at risk?”
Parent Portia James toldWBTV that she supports the walkout as an avenue for “students to be able to say something and voice their opinion in a positive way.”
“This is not the kind of behavior that we want in Charlotte going forward,” James said of the federal crackdown.
This week’s demonstrations followed Saturday’s “No Border Patrol in Charlotte” rally and march, which drew thousands of protesters to First Ward Park and the city’s streets.
Concern is also growing over federal agents arresting and terrorizing US citizens who legally follow, monitor, and record their activities. Vigilant residents have been confronting federal agents, shouting, blowing whistles, and recording them. Federal agents have also seized US citizens who’ve shown proof of their citizenship.
🚨ICE/Border Patrol agents assaulted and kidnapped a U.S. citizen… then dumped him on the side of the road two miles away.
In the video, you can see agents uncuffing him, tossing his wallet and belongings onto the ground, and driving away. No apology. No explanation. Just… pic.twitter.com/CBE0iag9zZ
“Our country is facing a constant constitutional assault unlike we’ve experienced in many decades,” David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said on X Wednesday. “Don’t give an inch of your freedom.”
Undaunted, some democracy defenders have taken to mocking the invaders:
ICE IN CHARLOTTE NC‼️ This is the appropriate energy needed for this moment in history‼️ pic.twitter.com/bzdFLSWLyt
Others are mobilizing to resist the invasion and protect their immigrant relatives, friends, and neighbors. Residents have formed volunteer patrols, parents and educators have monitored schools and surrounding areas for agents, and church parishioners armed with whistles are alerting community members when “la migra esta aquí”—the immigration agents are here.
On Saturday, Manolo’s Latin Bakery, which has operated in Charlotte for 28 years, was rocked as federal agents in tactical gearchased, tackled, and arrested people outside the business.
“I have seen these people in SUVs, cars that are not marked with their faces covered… throwing immigrants to the floor and taking them away,” owner Manolo Betancur toldQueen City News on Saturday, saying he would temporarily shut down his business.
“I’m going to close the door right now,” he said. “Yeah, I’m not going to risk my customers… I don’t want to risk myself even though I am an American citizen. Because the way they look, because they’re way that my accent, because the way that I talk, they’re just going to throw me down to the floor.”
Local resident Beth Clements toldCNN Thursday that she’s been outside the bakery for three days wearing a yellow vest and whistle.
“I’m going to walk the streets with my whistle,” she said, “and I want to keep my neighbors protected because they deserve protection and they deserve to live in a world where they’re not scared.”
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
A billboard in Times Square calls for the release of the Epstein Files on July 23, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
“Not national security that has anything to do with the national defense or harm to the nation,” said independent journalist Ken Klippenstein. “But the self-serving kind that protects the system from the people.”
After its near-unanimous approval in Congress and following months of sustained public pressure, President Donald Trumpsigned a law on Wednesday releasing the files from the FBI’s investigation into the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The law requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to “make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” related to the investigations into Epstein and his partner and coconspirator Ghislaine Maxwell within the next 30 days.
But critically, it gives Bondi expansive power to redact large amounts of information, potentially burying material that may be incriminating to the president, whose relationship with the disgraced financier has become the subject of greater speculation with each new set of documents released.
One provision allows Bondi to redact documents to strike information that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution.” Last week, Trump ordered Bondi to open investigations into Epstein’s connections with several prominent Democrats: Among them are former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.
Lawmakers have raised fears that these investigations were enacted to give Bondi greater leeway to scrub information from the record. On Monday, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), the law’s Republican cosponsor, warned that the DOJ “may be trying to use those investigations as a predicate for not releasing the files.”
But another largely overlooked section may give her even more sweeping authority. The law states that information may also be redacted “if the attorney general makes a determination that covered information may not be declassified and made available in a manner that protects the national security of the United States, including methods or sources related to national security.” It also allows her to redact information deemed “to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.”
While the law requires Bondi to issue a written justification for each piece of redacted information and also clarifies that no file shall be “withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary,” it does not define the criteria Bondi must use to determine whether something is in the interest of America’s “national security,” “national defense,” or “foreign policy.”
Here's a look at the Epstein files after Bondi does her "national security" redactions pic.twitter.com/xrteA1JP0X
“One glaring loophole will prevent full transparency: It’s called national security,” wrote independent journalist Ken Klippenstein Monday, as the House moved toward a vote on the files. “Not national security that has anything to do with the national defense or harm to the nation, but the self-serving kind that protects the system from the people by depriving them of information.”
There are many cases in recent memory of the US using national security as a justification to withhold information from the public. Earlier this year, the Trump administrationused its “state secrets” privilege to deny a judge’s request to turn over information related to its extrajudicial deportation flights to El Salvador, arguing that it would compromise its diplomatic relations with that country. Meanwhile, past administrations have used national security to justify keeping the public in the dark about everything from the military’s use of torture to the government’s mass surveillance of American citizens.
While the primary interest in Epstein surrounds his alleged role in facilitating a sex trafficking ring for the political and economic elite, there are clear cases where the government could attempt to use national security as a justification to keep information hidden.
For example, recent documents have revealed the extent of his involvement with foreign intelligence and dealmaking. Drop Site Newshas reported extensively on Epstein’s long history working as an informal fixer for former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to secure deals with several foreign nations that benefited Israel and attempted to shape global politics, including in the United States, to its interests.
Went on the @SantitaJ show with @JNaureckas to talk Epstein, Israel, and how the media seeks to bury the connection.
Klippenstein has also raised concerns about the inclusion of the word “unclassified” in the bill, which he noted “is an official word that in theory only exists when it comes to national security matters; that is, that the release of such information could cause ‘harm’ to national security.”
He said he asked Massie and the law’s Democratic cosponsor, Ro Khanna (Calif.), for comment on why that word was included at all since the law does not relate to national security. Neither responded.
But Massie told journalist Michael Tracey back in September that a similar provision to redact info related to “national defense” was included because, “You have to put that in there if you’re going to get them to sign it.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who fought against the release of the files until the bitter end but ultimately voted for the bill along with all but one member of the House, invoked what he called “national security concerns” in a last-ditch effort to stop the discharge petition that brought the Epstein bill to the House floor.
It echoed what Bondi herself said back in March when asked on Fox News why any information besides victims’ names would need to be stricken from the record: “Of course, national security.”
Speaker Johnson says he has "national security concerns" about releasing the Epstein Files.
"Declassification should always rest and always has rested with the agency that originated the intelligence. Why? So that they can protect their critical sources and methods." pic.twitter.com/fazvsRfprh
— Ken Klippenstein (NSPM-7 Compliant) (@kenklippenstein) November 18, 2025
“If large sections of the files remain redacted or withheld, the public may face a truncated version of ‘transparency,’ one that protects many of the powerful rather than exposes them,” wrote independent journalist Brian Allen. “This is not just a story about Epstein. It is a stress test of our system of accountability.”
Donald Trump and his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein.Donald Trump and his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein.Donald Trump picture with one of his wives, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
International Court of Justice holds hearing on Nicaragua vs. Germany. Photo: UN
The German Federal Republic may have made false statements at the very beginning of the trial before the UN’s highest court.
Since April 2024, Germany has been on trial before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Nicaragua had filed a case against the Federal Republic, accusing it of complicity in the genocide in Gaza. As has now become known, German representatives may have made false statements in their very first testimony before the ICJ in April 2024, concerning the arms exports delivered to Israel.
“Not disclosed”
As Drop Site News (DSN) and the liberal German magazine Stern reported in a joint article, there are now serious doubts about Germany’s statements. They cite comments from the German Defense Ministry, obtained through a press law procedure before a German administrative court. According to these documents, the ministry stated that its testimony before the ICJ in April 2024 had been made “in agreement with the affected state,” meaning Israel. The ministry also admitted that “the differentiated information on Bundeswehr exports,” was “not disclosed in the proceedings before the ICJ.” The Defense Ministry argued before the court that it could not release information about transfers to specific countries “for reasons of contractually agreed confidentiality”, since doing so could seriously damage the trust between Germany and Israel.
Following the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation and the beginning of the Gaza genocide in October 2023, the value of German military exports to Israel increased tenfold overnight. The Federal Republic thus became, after the United States, the second most important supplier of weapons to the Zionist regime; at one point, a third of Israel’s weapons were said to have come from Germany. By mid-May 2025, successive German governments had approved arms deliveries worth 485 million euros. Added to this were donations from the Bundeswehr’s own stocks to the IDF.
It is these donations that DSN and Stern have raised doubts about. German representatives had claimed before the ICJ that in 2023 no weapons of war but only “medical supplies and helmets” had been delivered to Israel from Bundeswehr inventories. Lea Reisner, spokeswoman for the Left Party in the German parliament, commented to the German left-wing daily junge Welt: “For many months, the federal government has been deceiving the public about the extent of German arms deliveries to Israel – and now, apparently, also the International Court of Justice.”
Growing pressure
While the fact that Germany is standing trial in The Hague on charges of complicity in a new genocide has been largely ignored within the dominant discourse in Germany, Nicaragua’s case nonetheless appears to have exerted considerable pressure on the German government. Over the course of 2024, the number of weapons delivered by Germany to Israel fell sharply, without any official explanation. Even the state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (which reports far more critically in English than in German in order to project an image of Germany as a country with a critical media landscape, which is just not true) suggested that the decline may be linked to the ICJ case.
In August 2025, the current chancellor, Friedrich Merz, announced that Germany would no longer supply weapons to Israel “that can be used in Gaza”. It quickly became clear, however, that this referred only to new export licenses, while previously approved arms shipments were unaffected. Moreover, Israel’s navy received new warships and submarines from Germany immediately after Merz’s announcement, even though it plays a central role in the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Nevertheless, this surprising step by the German government shows that even in Berlin there was a perceived need to take measures that at least appear to resemble sanctions.
And the possible fact that the Federal Republic may have made false statements at the very beginning of the trial before the UN’s highest court can also be seen as an indication that those in power in Berlin are fully aware that their policy of so-called “German Staatsräson” violates international law. This affair, however, is unlikely to do much for Germany’s credibility before the ICJ.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Protest against US and UK sanctions on Venezuela. Photo: Venezuela Solidarity Campaign
Left parties and organizations across Europe are calling for respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty and action against escalating US aggression in the Caribbean.
European leaders continue to subordinate themselves to the Trump administration, including on the United States’ escalating military threats against Venezuela. Shortly before this month’s CELAC–EU summit in Colombia, several high-ranking figures, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron, suddenly announced they would not attend the meeting. Their move has widely been understood as an attempt to avoid displeasing US President Donald Trump at a moment of mounting US aggression in Latin America.
In contrast, left parties in the region warn against this approach. Instead of supporting US militarism, they insist, Europe should uphold international law, respect the sovereignty of Latin American states, and push for diplomacy over war.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented military escalation in 20 years, a multifaceted aggression that threatens not only Venezuela, but any project of sovereignty and social justice in Latin America,” the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) wrote in response to the situation. Italy’s Potere al Popolo echoed this concern, noting that US interests in Latin America have remained unchanged for decades. “On the one hand, it’s about securing access to the immense oil, water, and raw materials reserves, but also to the food production capacities of the Latin American continent (an economic and trade war),” the party wrote. “On the other hand, they want to stifle the efforts of progressive and socialist governments (an ideology war).”
For left organizations from Greece to Britain, there is little doubt that the current US threats against Venezuela amount to a push for regime change. Most see this as yet another step that could trap Latin America and the rest of the world into an even deeper cycle of violence. Despite such concerns, most European governments have not shown any sign of questioning US plans or proposing alternatives. Just the opposite: in addition to skipping multilateral discussions with Latin American counterparts, some have even chosen to reduce diplomatic representation in the region.
Belgium recently announced it would close several diplomatic missions, including those in Havana and Rio de Janeiro. The PTB-PVDA warned against this decision, emphasizing that it is both dangerous and short-sighted. “This is a very bad idea,” said party General Secretary Peter Mertens. “At a time when international law and international relations are already under heavy pressure, and US President Donald Trump is announcing new military aggressions in the Caribbean region, we need more diplomacy.”
Peace networks and organizations are similarly calling for a change of approach. Belgian associations Vrede and Intal appealed to parliamentary bodies to take action in light of recent US announcements regarding the launch of its new military initiative, Operation Southern Spear. “Venezuela is risking being plunged into chaos similar to the most devastating conflicts of recent decades, and a prolonged instability could arise across the region,” the groups wrote.
They also warned that Belgium has legal and political obligations to uphold international law and therefore support peaceful solutions. Similar calls have appeared in Britain, where several MPs and peace networks have criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer for failing to oppose the US militarization drive. “There are deep fears that US military intervention in Venezuela would be the first step in a wider military escalation by Trump in Latin America,” their appeal warns. “The US has a long history of interference in the continent, where so-called ‘regime change’ has caused widespread suffering and lasting harm.”
The Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Britain also urged action, saying: “The task now is to maximize support for solidarity with Venezuela on the basis of respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty, a recall of the US fleet, and end to US military aggression in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Those calling for solidarity with Venezuela are well aware that their initiatives stand in stark contrast to the interests of powerful actors poised to benefit from the escalation. “War is beneficial for some, not least those who are well aware that Venezuela sits on the world’s largest oil reserves,” Jeremy Corbyn noted for the Stop the War Coalition.
Despite anticipating a response from conservative and right-wing forces, left parties and progressive networks insist that now is the time to intensify solidarity. “Trump is responding to the crisis of US hegemony with greater militarization of the world. Europe – including Giorgia Meloni’s government – is following suit by increasing military spending and attacking the rights of the working class,” Potere al Popolo stated. “Today, more than ever, we have a duty to stop this expanding war economy, as the dockworkers demonstrated with their recent general strikes and as millions around the world showed by marching for peace.”
