The American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief in support of the seven elected officials who are challenging Gov. Bill Lee’s deployment of the Tennessee National Guard to Memphis, the organization announced in an Oct. 31 news release.
The brief argues the governor violated the Tennessee Constitution by deploying the Guard without legislative authorization or the request of local officials.
“The Tennessee Constitution was written to prevent exactly this kind of executive overreach,” said Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, a senior staff attorney with ACLU-TN. “Our founders understood that unchecked military and police power is incompatible with liberty and democracy.”…