A coalition of advocacy groups and a Democratic-led city on Thursday filed a preemptive lawsuit to block the Trump administration from deploying armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to voting centers ahead of the November midterm elections. The lawsuit asks the federal district court in Washington, D.C., to declare illegal any plans to have armed officers at polling places and to prohibit federal officials from carrying weapons near polling places or other sites where votes are collected. “The specter of armed agents at polling places threatens the freedom of the upcoming elections,” the lawsuit reads. “This makes voters fear they will be confronted by armed federal agents if they decide to vote.” The lawsuit specifically names the Department of Homeland Security and ICE as defendants, as well as their respective leaders, Markwayne Mullin and David Venturella. It was filed by the liberal legal group Democracy Forward, on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens, Common Cause, UnidosUS and the city of Denver. The lawsuit cited a provision of federal law that makes it a crime for officials to supervise or order the deployment of “any troops or armed men” to “any place where general or special elections are held,” unless such deployment is necessary to repel “armed enemies of the United States.” Although some MAGA figures, such as Steve Bannon, have called for ICE to “surround the polls,” Trump administration officials have denied concrete plans for such deployments, while at the same time not categorically ruling out the presence of agents at polling places in some circumstances. During a press conference in New York City earlier this month, DHS Secretary Mullin said that “ICE is not there to patrol polling places.” But Mullin said ICE could be at polling places if there is “a threat” to those sites or if agents are serving a warrant for someone they have “been actively tracking.” “If we’re following a court order, we’ll be where we need to be,” Mullin said when pressed again on the issue. Its Homeland Security Investigations branch has historically focused on dismantling criminal activity with an international nexus, but has increasingly been tasked with assisting with immigration enforcement and investigations into alleged election fraud. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said the military has no plans to send troops or National Guard soldiers to polling places. Go deeper with The Free Press on:
