Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Wednesday weighed in on the deployment of National Guard troops being sent to Illinois and said she believes it's only a matter of time before the National Guard is deployed to Michigan. 

With the arrival of National Guard troops in neighboring Illinois, Nessel said that possibility is much closer to home.

"I think people need to be aware of this, concerned about it, and understand why it's so dangerous to have the military policing our United States cities," Nessel told CBS News Detroit. "I think it's incredibly scary. We're seeing the weaponization of the military against political dissenters, and that doesn't happen in a democracy. That is all the hallmarks of an authoritarian regime."

During a visit to Howell, Michigan, in September, Vice President JD Vance extended an offer to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to bring the National Guard to Detroit.

"My one message to Gretchen Whitmer is look, the city of Detroit we know has got some serious crime problems and we know it's the people in Detroit who suffer the most when crime is allowed to run rampant all over the city streets," the vice president said while speaking at Hatch Stamping. "We are happy to send the National Guard to Detroit, Michigan. All you've got to do is ask."  

Maurice "Paster Mo" Hardwick — founder of Live in Peace Movement, an Office of Community Violence Intervention Services group that works with Detroit city officials and law enforcement — said some cities like Chicago might benefit from the help, but not Detroit.

"Vice President Vance, thank you, but no. Detroit is moving in an upward swing of bringing down the violence," Hardwick said. "If it ever got to that point where we couldn't control it, and I know me, being boots on the ground, I couldn't control it, I would say, 'Have at it. Have at it, Mr. President.' We're not there yet."

The last time the National Guard was sent to Detroit was in 1967 during a civil rights uprising. Belle Isle, at the time, was used as a temporary detention site.

Sandra Turner-Handy — executive director of the Denby Neighborhood Alliance, another community violence intervention group — remembers what it was like to see tanks rolling down the streets of Detroit.

"We were mistreated. I saw people just slammed up against walls, you know, and I'm a 10-year-old child watching this in my community," Turner-Handy said. "I still have that fear of people coming into our community and controlling our lives."

Nessel said she is prepared to file a lawsuit to prevent the National Guard from coming to Michigan. 

"I will do anything and everything I can to protect the people of the state of Michigan, and that includes from federal trespasses by the Trump administration," she said. 

Community violence intervention group leaders agree that what they need is more funding.

"We love this city, and we're going to take care of it. We're going to create the clean, safe and healthy city that we need for all of us to thrive," Turner-Handy said.

CBS News Detroit reached out to the White House on Wednesday for comment, and an official issued the following statement: "President Trump cares deeply about the safety and security of Americans in cities across the country, however we would not get ahead of the President on any potential announcements."