'Not what we signed up to do': National Guard officers vow to defy Trump’s orders

U.S. Army National Guard members assist Memphis Police Department in the entertainment district, Beale Street, in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., October 16, 2025. REUTERS/Karen Pulfer Focht

Even though President Donald Trump wants to deploy the National Guard to patrol the streets of Chicago, Illinois, two officers are now directly disobeying those orders.

CBS News reported Monday that Staff Sgt. Demi Palacek (who is running as a Democrat for the Illinois State Legislature) and Capt. Dylan Blaha (who is running for Congress as a Democrat) are both promising to refuse to help the Trump administration secure immigration enforcement operations in the United States' third-largest city due to a crisis of conscience.

"It's disheartening to be forced to go against your community members and your neighbors," Palacek said. "It feels illegal. This is not what we signed up to do."

Trump had previously federalized 500 National Guard troops from both the Illinois and Texas National Guard to safeguard Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they carried out arrests in the Windy City, and the Chicago deployment is still being litigated. However, Capt. Blaha told CBS he felt those orders were illegal and felt compelled to refuse them if they were given.

"I signed up to defend the American people and protect the Constitution," Blaha said. "When we have somebody in power who's actively dismantling our rights — free speech, due process, freedom of the press — it's really hard to be a soldier right now."

According to CBS, any member of the military who directly disobeys orders can be subjected to imprisonment, a court martial or even felony charges. The punishment will ultimately depend on who gave the order, whether the service member is under state or federal jurisdiction and the details behind their insubordination. Despite the potential consequences, Palacek told CBS she felt obligated to "definitely" refuse any order to deploy to Chicago.

"I'm not going to go against my community members, my family and my culture. I believe this is the time to be on the right side of history," she said.

"Look at 1930s, 1940s Germany," Blaha told CBS. "There is a point where if you didn't stand up to the Gestapo, are you just actively one of them now?"

Click here to read CBS' full report.

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