Gov. Josh Shapiro says “we are prepared” if President Donald Trump mobilizes the National Guard in Pennsylvania without local consent, as the president’s threatened to do in lots of U.S. cities, including Chicago, Memphis, Baltimore, and New Orleans.
Talking to reporters in Philadelphia last week, Shapiro didn't outline what that preparation might look like. He said Trump is just creating chaos.
“I’m the former chief law enforcement officer of this commonwealth, and I understand what communities need to do to make people safe as governor,” Shapiro said, citing declining violent crime statistics, presumably in Philadelphia. “Now is not a time to disrupt that with distrust the way the president is doing in other communities.”
Troops entered Los Angeles in June and Washington, D.C. in August. Last week, Trump indicated Chicago would be next, posting via his social media platform Truth Social that the city was "about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR." (ICYMI, the President also recently signed an order renaming the Department of Defense, but that’s not official without Congressional action.) He later said, "We're not going to war. We're going to clean up our cities."
He then changed course to Memphis. Trump called the city "deeply troubled" and said "we're going to fix that just like we did in Washington." Tennesseans say violent crime is trending down.
A federal judge has since ruled the deployment to L.A. was unconstitutional. The Trump administration immediately appealed.
Meanwhile, Shapiro said there’s no indication the White House is targeting Pennsylvania; neither Philly nor Pittsburgh have been mentioned. But given how Trump has “acted outside the bounds of the law,” Shapiro said PA would be ready.
Shapiro later wrote on X: “Anyone who tries to undermine Pennsylvanians' fundamental freedoms will have to go through me — whether that's a predatory corporation or the President of the United States.”
Vic Walczak, legal director for the Pennsylvania office of the American Civil Liberties Union, told City Cast Pittsburgh he’s not aware of any “clear indication” an action is likely in PA. But a perceived emergency could escalate quickly.
“I have little doubt they will weaponize even the tiniest conflagration to justify sending in troops,” he said.
Christopher Borick, political scientist and director of Muhlenberg College’s Institute of Public Opinion, said Shapiro’s status as a likely 2028 contender for president “shouldn’t be lost in the conversation” either, just as Trump’s pointed fingers at other Democratic hopefuls in California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
While we wait to see what comes next, here are the basics of how the National Guard works.
What is the National Guard?
The National Guard is a part-time military force that responds to domestic emergencies like natural disasters, and also serves as a reserve component of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, including overseas combat. It was established before the American Revolution as the country’s first military institution, and Pennsylvania’s dates back to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin created the Associators in Philadelphia. Today, the Pennsylvania National Guard (PNG) is one of the largest and most deployed in the country.
The closest base to Pittsburgh is the 171st Air Refueling Wing at Pittsburgh International Airport in Coraopolis, where the PNG has had a presence since 1948. As of 2023, the base employed about 400 full-time staff and 1,000 traditional guard members. Their primary role is to refuel aircraft while still in flight.
Each state maintains its own Army National Guard and Air National Guard, all under the command of the governor. However, during emergencies, troops can be “federalized,” meaning they report to the president.
The Posse Comitatus Act
The Posse Comitatus Act bars federal military troops from participating in civilian law enforcement without congressional approval. The National Guard usually does not fall under this category — except when federalized.
Earlier this summer, President Trump federalized California’s National Guard troops and deployed them to Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration enforcement actions. It was the first time since 1965 that a president did so over a governor’s objections, and a judge ruled it violated the Posse Comitatus Act.
The deployment in Washington, D.C. is a little different. Since the district has no governor, Trump controls their National Guard. Governors from six other states sent their troops, too.
The National Guard troops coming to other cities would be federalized, possibly coming from other states.
Can the National Guard Arrest People?
Under the Posse Comitatus act, no. But the Department of Defense — er, the Department of War — claims exceptions to the law.
If Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, Posse Comitatus gets suspended, and federal troops can directly perform law enforcement actions.
Otherwise, detainments are a gray area. The senior military official leading the L.A. deployment said troops couldn't arrest people, but could detain civilians until law enforcement arrived. However, a recent court ruling said troops could not be used for "arrests, apprehensions, searches, seizures, security patrols, traffic control, crowd control, riot control, evidence collection, interrogation, or acting as informants."
Technically, reservists should not be able to hit or hurt the people they’re called upon to secure. Troops are only supposed to use force to protect themselves or others from immediate danger; to stop a violent act; or to protect critical military operations.
What Else Can the National Guard Do?
In D.C., troops aided in clearing close to 50 homeless encampments over the last month. Now, they’re raking leaves, picking up garbage, and laying mulch. They’re also reportedly “standing around.”
The Department of Defense also says the National Guard could be used to protect federal property. In Pittsburgh, that could include the federal courthouse Downtown, the FBI field office in the South Side, Social Security Administration offices, VA campuses, Point State Park (which is a state park, but includes federally recognized historic landmarks like the Fort Pitt Blockhouse), and much more.
Right now, it’s unclear what actions they’d take in Pennsylvania.
