Democrats in suburban New York are suing a Republican county executive over his creation of an armed unit of volunteer residents, saying it amounts to an “illegal, taxpayer-funded civilian militia.”

The corps created by Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, is “an authoritarian power grab in the heart of suburban America,” said a lawyer representing county lawmakers.

Democrats in the Nassau County Legislature sued County Executive Bruce Blakeman over his "provisional special deputies program," a force of armed civilians he could activate in an emergency.

A New York Republican county executive is being sued over a move to deputize citizens for law-enforcement efforts, with Democrats arguing that it amounts to an "illegal militia." The lawsuit, filed by a pair of Democratic county legislators,

Democratic legislators are suing Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman claiming that the Long Island Republican illegally created a tax-payer-funded militia — allegations his office quickly slammed as bogus.

Democrats in suburban New York are suing a Republican county executive over his creation of an armed unit of volunteer residents, saying it amounts to an “illegal, taxpayer-funded civilian militia.” Nassau County Democratic lawmakers argue in their complaint filed Wednesday that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman lacked the legal authority to form a cadre of special sheriff’s deputies with “authority to use deadly force and make arrests under color of law.