Since the civil rights movement of the 1960s, its use has become 'exceedingly rare,' according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. The Insurrection Act has been invoked on dozens of occasions through US history. Has the Insurrection Act been invoked before? The law lays out a scenarios in which the president is required to have approval from a state's governor or legislature, and also instances where such approval is not necessary, said Robert Chesney, a professor of national security law at the University of Texas. Can Trump choose to send in troops without governor approval? If invoked, the Insurrection Act allows the president to deploy "land or naval forces of the U.S.". It permits the president to send in US forces to suppress a domestic insurrection that has hindered the normal enforcement of US law but only at the explicit request of a state governor. The Insurrection Act, which was signed into law by Thomas Jefferson in 1807, creates an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act. This principle is reflected in a law called the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally bars the federal military from participating in domestic law enforcement. Under the US Constitution, governors generally have the authority to maintain order within state borders. LAWRENCE BRYANT REUTERS What is the Insurrection Act? Whether Trump will risk it during a presidential election year is open to question when he can simply deploy the National Guard.įull screen A man gets on his knees in front of police officers during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd, in St Louis, Missouri, US, 1 June 2020. The key is in Trump's position as Commander-in-Chief of the United States military, but any attempt to unilaterally impose Martial Law would be met with vociferous disapproval in both the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as at state level, where local authority is sacrosanct. US citizens could also face court martials under such a measure. If Martial Law is introduced the First and Second Amendments of the US constitution could be suspended, which cover freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, press freedom and the right to bear arms. The last time Martial Law was declared in the US was following the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King in 1968. However, although a state of emergency is in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, Trump has yet to declare one over the ongoing civil unrest. If Trump makes that move, he is able to sign off on several measures to protect national security, including shutting down telecommunications in the US, freezing US citizen's bank accounts and deploying US military personnel in US states. Theoretically, yes, if the US president declares a state of national emergency over the George Floyd riots.
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