US President Donald Trump unlawfully ordered National Guard troops to Portland in Oregon, a federal judge has ruled, in a legal setback to the administration's use of the military in American cities.
The ruling by US District Judge Karin Immergut is the first to permanently block Mr Trump's use of military force to quell protests against immigration authorities.
The Republican president has sent the National Guard to three Democratic-led cities this year - Los Angeles, the capital Washington and Memphis.
However, his efforts to deploy troops in Portland and Chicago have been tied up in the courts.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that Mr Trump had exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers.
"President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities and we expect to be vindicated by a higher court," Ms Jackson said.
The Oregon Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Ms Immergut, a Trump appointee, said the administration had no lawful basis to claim that there was a rebellion in Portland or that the government was unable to enforce federal law due to the protests.
"The occasional interference to federal officers has been minimal and there is no evidence that these small-scale protests have significantly impeded the execution of any immigration laws," she said in her 106-page opinion and order.
Mr Trump's attempts to use military force to reduce unrest are a sharp break with long-standing but rarely tested norms against deploying troops on US soil.
The Trump administration is likely to appeal the ruling and the case could ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
The City of Portland and Oregon Attorney General's Office sued in September, alleging the Trump administration was exaggerating occasional violence to justify sending in troops under a law permitting presidents to do so in cases of rebellion.
Dueling narratives emerged during a three-day bench trial.
Justice Department lawyers described a violent siege overwhelming federal agents, echoing Mr Trump's description of the city as "war-ravaged".
Protests sparked by a spike in immigration raids have caused unrest in parts of the country as Mr Trump has pushed for a massive wave of deportations, which was a hallmark of his 2024 presidential campaign.
Lawyers for Oregon and Portland said violence has been rare, isolated and contained by local police.
Ms Immergut concluded in her order that the violence was small-scale, isolated, disorganised and had largely subsided by the time Mr Trump ordered in the National Guard in late September.
Democrats have said the US president is abusing military powers meant for genuine emergencies such as an invasion or an armed rebellion.
Ms Immergut blocked Mr Trump from deploying troops to Portland with an interim order on 5 October.
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals is considering the Trump administration's appeal of that decision.
Three judges, including Ms Immergut, have issued preliminary rulings that Mr Trump's National Guard deployments are not allowed under the emergency legal authority cited by his administration.
