[Just another Joe]

Is the Posse Comitatus Act totally without meaning today? No, it remains a deterrent to prevent the unauthorized deployment of troops at the local level in response to what is purely a civilian law enforcement matter. Although no person has ever been successfully prosecuted under the act, it is available in criminal or administrative proceedings to punish a lower-level commander who uses military forces to pursue a common felon or to conduct sobriety checkpoints off of a federal military post. Officers have had their careers abruptly brought to a close by misusing federal military assets to support a purely civilian criminal matter.

But does the act present a major barrier at the National Command Authority level to use of military forces in the battle against terrorism? The numerous exceptions and policy shifts carried out over the past 20 years strongly indicate that it does not. Could anyone seriously suggest that it is appropriate to use the military to interdict drugs and illegal aliens but preclude the military from countering terrorist threats that employ weapons of mass destruction? For two decades the military has been increasingly used as an auxiliary to civilian law enforcement when the capabilities of the police have been exceeded. Under both the statutory and constitutional exceptions that have permitted the use of the military in law enforcement since 1980, the president has ample authority to employ the military in homeland defense against the threat of weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands.

from here

[Sybeck1]

Wasn’t Posse Comitatus waived back in 1993? 16 years this coming April?

[MindBender26]

Could easily be ‘Bama Guard! (and therefore entirely legal)

Idiot photog would not know.

[MindBender26]

P.S. During 1968 riots at DNC in Chicago and Detroit after murder of Dr. King, active duty troops from Ft. Sill (and elsewhere) were deployed.

In Detroit, we always had a local cop with every squad or platoon to “give guidance and permission.”

In Chicago, the local cops were doing a good enough job of headbeating on the unwashed punks, we BNCO and staff all changed into civies and went to Playboy Club and a place out near airport called SOPs!

SOPs was across street from United Airlines Stewardess Training School..... It was like walking into a woman's prison with a handful of pardons....

[reasonisfaith]

“Could anyone seriously suggest that it is appropriate to use the military to interdict drugs and illegal aliens but preclude the military from countering terrorist threats that employ weapons of mass destruction?”

I’ll tell you what I can seriously suggest. I can seriously suggest that it is entirely appropriate for U.S. citizens to expect no threat to their liberty by U.S. military commanders.

[Winged Hussar]

If terrorists (foreign enemies) are in the United States, I see no reason why the Armed Forces cannot engage them as they would an enemy army. Then it’s war, not law enforcement.

[RWB Patriot]

My understanding is that the Posse Comitatus Act forbids the military from taking over police duties and civilian governments, not assisting the police in carrying out their duties (like during Katrina and the LA Riots). If they’re under the control of the police in this situation, then technically no violation has occured.