LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is warning that the Trump administration’s use of the National Guard in several major U.S. cities marks what she calls a “dangerous and undemocratic precedent.”
“I am deeply concerned about the weaponization of the military against political dissent,” Nessel said. “That’s a hallmark not of a democracy, but of a full-on autocratic regime.”
Nessel says she expects it’s “a matter of when, not if,” the Trump administration will attempt to deploy troops in Michigan, particularly in Detroit, following comments from Vice President J.D. Vance suggesting he would send the Guard there if asked.
She says the move would be both ineffective and unconstitutional, pointing out that violent crime has actually been decreasing across Michigan’s major cities. Earlier this week, the mayor of Detroit highlighted a continued decrease in violent crime since 2020.
“I am a great believer that the way that you reduce crime in the long term is by changing to a culture of accountability. You change individuals’ decision-making so that they don’t pack the gun in the first place, that they don’t go out to retaliate,” Duggan said, highlighting community violence intervention programs credited with the reduction in violent crime rates.
Nessel echoed the sentiment, saying the state needs renewed federal support for violence prevention programs and interagency task forces, not military involvement.
“When the National Guard is used for law enforcement instead of emergencies like ice storms or tornadoes, they’re not available for what they were trained to do,” she said.
Nessel emphasized that any effort to deploy the Guard over Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s objection would be illegal, and that her office is prepared to challenge it in court if necessary.
“We can expect to see it here,” she said, “but we want people to know this is not okay. It’s a gross violation of the United States Constitution.”
