Trump's threat to invoke Insurrection Act escalates showdown with Democratic cities

Reuters.com ^ | October 7, 202511:39 AM CDT | Emily Schmall

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Summary

• Democratic leaders oppose Trump's military deployment in cities
• Legal battles ensue over National Guard deployment in Chicago, Portland
• National Guard deployment raises concerns over militarization of cities
• Illinois Governor Pritzker accuses Trump of using troops as political tool
• Federal judge temporarily blocks Guard deployment to Portland

CHICAGO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's threat to invoke a federal anti-insurrection law to expand his deployment of military personnel to U.S. cities has intensified his legal battle with Democratic-led cities over presidential authority, as hundreds of National Guard troops from Texas on Tuesday prepared to patrol the streets of Chicago.

The president told reporters on Monday he would consider utilizing the Insurrection Act, a law enacted more than two centuries ago, to sidestep any court rulings restricting his orders to send Guard troops into cities over the objections of local and state officials.

"We have an Insurrection Act for a reason," Trump said. "If people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I'd do that."

The law, which gives the president authority to deploy the military to quell unrest in an emergency, has typically been used only in extreme cases, and almost always at the invitation of state governors. The act was last invoked by President George H.W. Bush during the Los Angeles riots of 1992.

Insurrection Act Exception to Rule

Under federal law, National Guard and other military troops are generally prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement. But the Insurrection Act operates as an exception to that rule and would give troops the power to directly police and arrest people.

Using the act would represent a significant escalation of Trump's campaign to deploy the military to Democratic cities, an extraordinary assertion of presidential power. Last week, in...

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Mexico; Politics/Elections; US: California; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: aliens; alreuters; chicago; corruption; fakenews; illegals; insurrectionact; johnson; letsgobrandonjohnson; pritzker; rebellion; subversion; tds

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Trump's threat to invoke Insurrection Act escalates showdown with Democratic cities

Ain't nothin' "democratic" about 'em.

[Steely Tom]

It’s amazing, the united front these people put up against efforts to rid their cities of crime and mayhem.

I guess their voters want it that way.

[MtnClimber]

Don’t forget that the DIM mayors and police chiefs are the lead insurrectionists.

[NonValueAdded]

Chitcago is begging for it.

[Tench_Coxe]

"Any effort by Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act would also likely face legal challenges. The law has rarely been interpreted by the courts, but the Supreme Court has ruled that the president alone can determine if the act's conditions have been met. Those conditions include when the U.S. government's authority is facing "unlawful obstructions, combinations or assemblages or rebellion.""

And then the article's authors go on to mention Johnson's use of the guard in the 1960s. No sense ofnirony whatsoever.

[JusPasenThru]

Get it over with.

[sauropod]

Ahhh Rooters.

[5Madman2]

Stop talking

Start acting

[cymbeline]

“I guess their voters want it that way.”

If the votes want it that way then why should an outside savior (our Federal government) come in and help?

Perhaps the Federal Government, which is really the rest of us, should let states and cities make their own decisions with the understanding that they must live with the consequences without outside bailing out.

Remember Mother Theresa’s words: “The path to wisdom is through suffering.” Don’t we want wise cities?

[Bubba_Leroy]

A more accurate title for the article would be:

"Insurrection by democrat controlled cities escalates showdown with President Trump."

[Right Brother]

I say a low threshold has been established. Taking a selfie in Nancy Pelosi’s office is an insurrection.

[TiGuy22]

Yep... Sanctuary cities are an insurrection in themselves.

[NavyShoe]

We are going to be so disappointed when Trump’s term is up. This $hit is so good.

[Gnome1949]

It is time to eject the pro-crime politicians and bureaucrats from American cities and let SANE people live in peace in those cities.

Declare the insurrection and use military force to return civilized order. Round up and run the scoundrels into prisons where they ALL belong.

[SunkenCiv]

DNC Talking Point, from Partisan Media Shills, complete with "escalates" buzzword.

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[SaveFerris]

[invoke Insurrection Act]

if they keep it up then DO IT!

[jpp113]

Forget the NG, it just gives too much opening for blue states to push their TDS lawfare garbage. When I was in the USMC, we were called “the President’s Own”. Send the Marines in instead, fully equipped and with orders that deadly force is to be met with deadly force.