Attorney General Matt Platkin released a statement this afternoon expressing his strong opposition to a plan by the Pentagon to train specialized National Guard troops for deployment to urban centers.

"President Trump’s attempts to use the National Guard as his own personal police force violate federal law, and they don’t make us any safer," Platkin told InsiderNJ. "I am proud to stand with my fellow Attorneys General across the country in opposing any illegal deployment of the National Guard in our communities."

By way of context via The Washington Post: The Pentagon has ordered thousands of specialized National Guard personnel to complete civil unrest mission training over the next several months, an indication that the Trump administration’s effort to send uniformed military forces into urban centers - once reserved for extraordinary emergencies - could become the norm.

The Defense Department’s newly established “quick reaction force” within the National Guard must be trained, equipped with riot-control gear and ready for deployment by Jan. 1, according to internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The 200 troops will be drawn from National Guard personnel whose primary focus is responding to disasters like nuclear accidents and terrorist attacks, the documents said.