A group of civil rights organizations is seeking an order to prevent the closure of a Justice Department office dedicated to preventing unrest and violence in U.S. cities.

The groups are suing for a preliminary injunction to avert the closure of the Community Relations Service, which was launched in 1964 to avert rioting and racial strife in American communities.

The office has been known informally as "America's Peacemaker."

As CBS News reported in April , the Trump administration was planning to shutter the Community Relations Service.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, several organizations, including multiple NAACP branches and the Missionary Baptist Convention of Missouri, argue that the Justice Department is violating the law in closing the office.

"Rather than pursue legislation

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