A Tennessee judge on Monday blocked the deployment of the National Guard in Memphis, saying Gov. Bill Lee exceeded his authority.

Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal issued a temporary injunction to prohibit the deployment of troops into the city.

However, she placed the ruling on hold for five days to allow for an appeal.

“The power committed to the Governor as commander-in-chief of the Army and Militia is not unfettered,” Moskal said, according to ABC News.

Democratic state and local officials filed a lawsuit, claiming Gov. Lee cannot deploy the Tennessee National Guard for civil unrest unless there is an invasion or rebellion.

ABC News has more:

In a statement, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris called the decision “a positive step toward ensuring the rule of law applies to everyone, including everyday Tennesseans and even the Governor.”

While the ruling curtails the use of the National Guard, other parts of a federal task force established by Trump — including agents from the FBI, ATF and DEA — are allowed to continue operating in the city.

“An activist judge in Nashville has blocked the deployment of the National Guard into Memphis, claiming the crime rates are not a ‘grave emergency,'” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said.

“She should tell that to the countless families who’ve lost loved ones to violent murder. I’m glad @AGTennessee will be appealing,” she added.

NBC News shared:

The plaintiffs also said another provision spells out a need for a request from a local government to use the Guard in some scenarios, including a “breakdown of law and order,” they said.

Moskal agreed that the defendants have a likelihood of success in their lawsuit based on their claims that calling the National Guard into the city violates the state’s military code and that they have shown “they are suffering or will suffer irreparable harm” if the injunction isn’t granted.

But she also paused the order for at least five days so that the government has time to file an “immediate application for permission to appeal,” without providing her reasoning for that timeline.

The state has said Tennessee law gives the governor “the authority to dispatch the Guard when needed and to determine when that need exists.”