The District of Columbia (DC) and the state of Virginia have filed a joint lawsuit seeking to block construction of the Arc de Triomphe sought by US President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit, filed Saturday, calls the project “grossly illegal” and “legally indefensible.”
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They are asking a federal court to prohibit construction before construction begins.
Otherwise, Trump could argue that pausing construction already underway poses a national security risk, as he has done with other controversial projects in the past, the lawsuit warns.
“This is not the first time that Defendants have attempted to dramatically reshape a school district in such a hurry that the courts cannot intervene,” the complaint says. “This court should not allow this effort to escape judicial oversight.”
Saturday’s complaint brings the total number of lawsuits against Arch to three.
President Trump supports plans to build an Arc de Triomphe similar to the one built in Paris during the Napoleonic era.
But President Trump’s arch is designed to stand 30 meters (100 feet) higher than the Statue of Liberty. It will rise 76 meters (250 feet) above Memorial Circle in Washington, DC.
Its sheer size has drawn ire from veterans groups who are concerned that the arch will obstruct views of Arlington National Cemetery, a sacred military cemetery in particular.
White House officials have maintained that a landing spot could be determined as early as next week, around November 5th.
On Friday, the government released a 106-page proposal for the Arch to become a 12-story megastructure, featuring the winged Statue of Liberty holding an eternal flame.
The Arch will include two mezzanines and an observation deck with panoramic east-west views, as well as program space, offices and a “fire command center.”
President Trump previously said the arch would also serve as a military base with sniper and drone capabilities.
Construction of the arch could result in significant changes to traffic in the area, including rerouting traffic to nearby roads.
In Saturday’s lawsuit, Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones cited the project’s destructive impact as a major concern.
“As soon as Defendants break ground on this project, they will cause irreparable harm to both the District and the State of Virginia,” the complaint says.
The report warns that the expected three-year construction project will disrupt commuter traffic, slow emergency vehicles and cause significant pollution, including “stormwater runoff into the Potomac River.”
The lawsuit asks the court to force the Trump administration to seek Congressional approval before construction can begin.
The new legal challenge follows an Oct. 8 filing by Arlington County, the first government agency to take legal action against President Trump’s monument plan.
In the lawsuit, the county board of supervisors argued that the project would cause “significant harm” to residents and likely require changes to nearby flight paths.
The first complaints were received in February, when a Vietnam War veterans group and architectural historians began an effort to stop the arch.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan is overseeing the case and is considering whether to issue a preliminary injunction to temporarily freeze construction plans while the court hears arguments.
At Friday’s hearing, Chutkan deferred immediate sentencing but indicated he intended to hand down the sentence quickly.
She had previously ordered the administration to give the court 48 hours’ notice before starting any activities related to the arch’s construction.
The monument has already received early approval from the National Board of Fine Arts, whose members were all nominated by President Trump.
