Governor McMaster’s Partisan Political Move to Militarize U.S. Cities Violates Long-Standing South Carolina Law

Columbia, S.C. – A Navy veteran and the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation (SCPIF) are taking legal action to stop South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Robin B. Stilwell, the Adjutant General of the South Carolina National Guard, from deploying National Guard troops from South Carolina to police Washington D.C. – a dangerous and unlawful act of political theater that threatens democracy and the rule of law in South Carolina. 

In a complaint filed in the South Carolina Supreme Court by co-counsel Democracy Forward and the ACLU of South Carolina, Navy veteran James Weninger and SCPIF argue that Governor McMaster’s deployment violates South Carolina law, which only allows the Guard to be called up under conditions set by the South Carolina General Assembly: “in the event of (a) war, insurrection, rebellion, invasion, tumult, riot or a mob, (b) a body of men acting together by force with intent to commit a felony, to offer violence to persons or property or by force and violence to break and resist the laws of this State or of the United States, (c) in case of the imminent danger of the occurrence of any such events, or (d) in the event of public disaster.” None of these conditions exist and the governor’s deployments violate South Carolina law.

“I spent more than a decade in the Navy. I was deployed all over the world, and have trained other servicemembers on the line between military and civilian law enforcement,” said Navy veteran and plaintiff Weninger. “South Carolina’s National Guardsmen should not be asked to undertake illegal deployments, or be used to score political points by our government.”  

“The South Carolina Constitution vests the General Assembly, not the Governor, with the power to say when our state’s National Guard may be used,” said Vincent Graham, Chairman of the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation. “We are asking the Supreme Court to step in and ensure that our Guardsmen aren’t being used for purposes that South Carolina law has never authorized.”

On August 11, 2025, President Trump released a memorandum titled “Restoring Law and Order in the District of Columbia,” mobilizing the District of Columbia National Guard “to address the epidemic of crime in our Nation’s capital.” The move was transparently political, as violent crime was at a 30-year low in Washington, crime was not out of control, and the city was (and is) not experiencing rising violence. Despite these facts, on August 16, 2025, South Carolina Governor McMaster announced that he had authorized the deployment of hundreds of South Carolina National Guardsmen to “support Federal law enforcement,” in Washington. On November 26, the governor announced a second deployment of hundreds more, separating National Guard members from their families during the holidays for a deployment estimated to take 90 days. 

“Governor McMaster cannot use South Carolina National Guard servicemembers as pawns in a harmful political gambit brought about by the President’s desire to militarize the nation’s cities,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “South Carolina law restricts the deployment of the National Guard and the Governor should not be permitted to ignore and violate the law. We are grateful to Mr. Weninger and the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation for their courage in defending the rule of law in South Carolina.” 

“The South Carolina National Guard is a vital state resource, meant to serve residents of this State in times of emergency,” said Allen Chaney, Legal Director of the ACLU of South Carolina. “Needlessly sending 300 servicemembers to D.C. over the objection of the District’s mayor is not only wrong, it’s unlawful.” 

The plaintiffs ask the Supreme Court to deem Governor McMaster’s deployments unlawful and to prevent the governor from further abusing his power by misusing South Carolina Guardsmen for political purposes. Alongside their complaint, the plaintiffs also petitioned the South Carolina Supreme Court to accept the case directly into the Court’s original jurisdiction given the severity and importance of the issue. 

The case is South Carolina Public Interest Foundation et al v. McMaster et al. The legal team at Democracy Forward on this case includes Aman George, Will Bardwell, and Brian Netter. The legal team at the ACLU of South Carolina includes Allen Chaney and Meredith McPhail.

Read the full complaint here. 

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.  

The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, a state affiliate of the ACLU, has been defending and advancing civil liberties in the Palmetto State since 1968. For more information, visit www.aclusc.org.