The District of Columbia has filed a sweeping lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and other federal officials, charging that the administration’s deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to patrol city streets is unlawful and threatens the core principle of local self-government.

In a 52-page complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb alleged that more than 2,200 troops from seven states and the District have been dispatched without the consent of Mayor Muriel Bowser. Armed soldiers in fatigues have been conducting “presence patrols,” making detentions, and riding armored vehicles through neighborhoods in what the city calls an illegal military occupation.

“The residents and

See Full Page