[A Navy Vet]

If this regular Army, they are not permitted to operate on American soil. If National Guard, a okay.

[jagusafr]

Not exactly. They are not allowed to engage in law enforcement operations under the posse comitatus act. They are authorized to operate and keep the peace in times of insurrection. And if some armed force were to come onto American soil, they could certainly defend their nation.

[pierrem15]

If Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, they can be used internally.

[Logical me]

If this regular Army, they are not permitted to operate on American soil. If National Guard, a okay.

Bull Shi!. We are at war! Wake up!

[Blueflag]

Possee commitatus (sp) does not apply to domestic insurrection. US federal troops can be deployed here for this.

[SmokingJoe]

If this regular Army, they are not permitted to operate on American soil. If National Guard, a okay.

Remember when Herbert Hoover deployed the army to DC (commanded by Gen Douglas MacArthur himself), with tanks and everything, to crush a bunch of WWI vets who were protesting in DC?

[Tallguy]

The used armed Marines from Pendelton during the south-central LA riots.

[Vermont Lt]

They actually can. It’s under some Sedition Act from 1909 (Or something like that.). It was used back in the 1990’s.

[Jack Black]

If this regular Army, they are not permitted to operate on American soil. If National Guard, a okay.

FALSE!

The regular Army has been used twice within my memory:

• The regular Army (combined 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne) were used to bring and end to the Detroit Riots of 1967.

• The 1st Marine Division and 7th Infantry Division were sent to curtail the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

  Here is a sad kicker that the people of Minneapolis may soon learn about. Many insurance policies, while covering arson and riot have a standard waiver and do not pay in times of "civil insurrection". Putting Army troops into any city means that there is a good chance many businesses will not be able to collect on their insurance. So, it's not a step lightly taken.

The Posse Comitatus Act does limit the use of the US Military in domestic law enforcement, but has an exception for "insurrection"

• 18 U.S.C. § 1385 – Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus

  Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Accordingly, actions taken under the Insurrection Act, as an "Act of Congress", have always been exempt from the Posse Comitatus Act.[2][3]

• The Insurrection Act

• The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a United States federal law (10 U.S.C. §§ 251–255)[1] (until 2016, found at 10 US Code, Chapter 15, §§ 331–335, renumbered to 10 USC, Chapter 13, §§ 251–255) that governs the ability of the President of the United States to deploy military troops within the United States to put down lawlessness, insurrection, and rebellion. The general purpose is to limit presidential power, relying on state and local governments for initial response in the event of insurrection. Coupled with the Posse Comitatus Act, presidential powers for federal military law enforcement on U.S. soil and unincorporated territories are limited and delayed.

• (1) The President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to–

  (A) restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that–

  (i) domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order; and

  (ii) such violence results in a condition described in paragraph (2); or

  (B) suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy if such insurrection, violation, combination, or conspiracy results in a condition described in paragraph (2).

• (2) A condition described in this paragraph is a condition that–

  (A) so hinders the execution of the laws of a State or possession, as applicable, and of the United States within that State or possession, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State or possession are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or

  (B) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.

SO:The claim that the regular Army cannot operate in the USA is an old wives tale.

The law is clear: when the conditions in the Insurrection Act are met the President may use the regular Army to restore order.

It is meant to be used in only the most extraordinary circumstances.

The Detroit Riots of 1967 and the 1992 Rodney King L.A. Riots are generally considered the most severe riots in the post-War era. (Of course, we don't know where the current events will end, so the list may soon have an addition.

• The 1967 Detroit Riots resulted in 43 dead, 1,189 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed.

• The 1992 Los Angeles riots resulted in 63 people killed, 2,383 people injured, more than 12,000 arrested, and estimates of property damage were over $1 billion

And, by the way, thank you for your service.

Of all the jobs that our US Military has to do I will always consider among the most important is to restore order in times of civil insurrection, which is a nice way of saying "big race riots".

Having grown up in Detroit, and being in the exact center of the destruction when the riots kicked off (Belle Isle), our family were very happy to see the U.S. Army arrive and bring the riots to an end. I will never forget it, including the row of APCs they parked on 8 Mile road (city limit) as a sort of final barrier to prevent the spread of the riot into neighboring cities.

A few pics of Detroit 1967:

Paratroopers, heavily armed, stand guard on the lawn of the Fifth Precinct police station in Detroit, July 25, 1967. The East Side station was under sniper fire at night from old movie house across the street. Note pock marked building where Army bullets, aimed at the snipers, hit the building. Other soldiers stand guard on the roof. (original caption, Detroit Free Press)

Federal troops land in Selfridge Field, Michigan after President Johnson ordered them to help quell race riots in Detroit, July 24, 1967. About 5,000 troops were called in.

Cheers!