#GiftArticle
#Trump plans to create #military ‘reaction force’ for civil unrest
The Trump admin is evaluating plans that would establish a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” composed of hundreds of #NationalGuard #troops tasked with rapidly deploying into #US cities facing #protests or other unrest, acc/to internal #Pentagon docs reviewed by WaPo.
#law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #democracy #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
https://wapo.st/46UGmic
The plan calls for 600 #troops to be on standby at all times so they can deploy in as little as one hour, the documents say. They would be split into 2 groups of 300 & stationed at #military bases in Alabama & Arizona, with purview of regions east & west of the Mississippi River, respectively.
#Trump #law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
Cost projections outlined in the documents indicate that such a mission, if the proposal is adopted, could stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars should #military aircraft & aircrews also be required to be ready around-the-clock. Troop transport via commercial airlines would be less expensive, the documents say.
#Trump #law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
The proposal, which has not been previously reported, represents another potential expansion of #Trump’s willingness to employ the #ArmedForces on #US soil. It relies on a section of US Code that allows the commander in chief to circumvent limitations on the #military’s use within the US.
#law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
The documents, marked predecisional, are comprehensive & contain extensive discussion about potential societal implications of establishing such a program. They were compiled by #NationalGuard ofcls & bear time stamps as recent as late July & early Aug. Fiscal year 2027 is the earliest this program could be created & funded through the #Pentagon’s traditional budgetary process, the docs say, leaving unclear whether it could begin sooner through alternative funding.
#Trump #law #MilitaryState
While most #NationalGuard commands have fast-response teams for use within their home states, the proposal under evaluation by the #Trump admin would entail moving #troops from one state to another.
The National Guard tested the concept ahead of the #2020election, putting 600 troops on alert in Arizona & Alabama as the country braced for possible #PoliticalViolence [but still somehow weren’t called up on #Jan6 till too late].
#law #MilitaryState #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
The test followed months of unrest in cities across the country, prompted by the #police murder of #GeorgeFloyd, that spurred #NationalGuard deployments in numerous locations. #Trump, then nearing the end of his first term, sought to employ active-duty #combat #troops while #Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper & other Pentagon officials urged him to rely instead on the Guard, which is trained to address civil disturbances.
#Trump #law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #RightToProtest
#Trump has summoned the #military for #domestic purposes like few of his predecessors.
…#NationalGuard #troops can be mobilized for federal missions inside the #US under two main authorities. The first, under #Title10, puts troops under the president’s direction, where they can SUPPORT law enforcement activity but not perform arrests or investigations.
#law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
The other kind, #Title32, is a #federal - #state status where #troops are controlled by their state #governor but federally funded. It also allows more latitude to participate in law enforcement missions. #NationalGuard troops from other states arrived in DC under such circumstances during racial justice #protests in 2020.
#Trump #law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
The proposal being evaluated now would allow the president to mobilize #troops & put them on #Title32 orders in a #state experiencing unrest. The documents detailing the plan acknowledge the potential for #political friction should the #governor refuse to work with the #Pentagon.
Some #legal scholars expressed apprehension about the proposal.
[I should think!]
#Trump #law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
The #Trump admin is relying on a shaky legal theory that the president can act broadly to protect *federal property & functions*, said Joseph Nunn, an attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice who specializes in legal issues germane to the #US #military’s domestic activities.
“You don’t want to normalize routine military participation in law enforcement,” he said. “You don’t want to normalize routine domestic deployment.”
#law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #Constitution
@Nonilex@masto.ai Not to mention that it depresses enlistment & retention. In spite of laws intended to prevent this, troops still often return home after multi-week deployments to find they are jobless.
The strategy is further complicated by the fact that #NationalGuard members from one state cannot operate in another state without permission, Nunn said. He also warned that any quick-reaction force established for #CivilUnrest missions risks lowering the threshold for deploying National Guard troops into US cities.
#Trump #law #PosseComitatusAct #MilitaryState #Autocracy #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #FreeSpeech
“When you have this tool waiting at your fingertips, you’re going to want to use it,” [especially if you’re #Trump] Nunn said. “It actually makes it more likely that you’re going to see domestic deployments — because why else have a task force?”
The proposal represents a major departure in how the #NationalGuard traditionally has been used, said Lindsay P. Cohn, an associate professor of #NationalSecurity affairs at the US Naval War College.
#law #MilitaryState #Autocracy
“When you have this tool waiting at your fingertips, you’re going to want to use it,” [especially if you’re #Trump] Nunn said. “It actually makes it more likely that you’re going to see domestic deployments — because why else have a task force?”
The proposal represents a major departure in how the #NationalGuard traditionally has been used, said Lindsay P. Cohn, an associate professor of #NationalSecurity affairs at the US Naval War College.
#law #MilitaryState #Autocracy
While it is not unusual for #NationalGuard units to be deployed for domestic emergencies within their states, including for civil disturbances, this “is really strange because essentially nothing is happening,” Cohn said.
“Crime is going down. We don’t have major protests or civil disturbances. There is no significant resistance from states” to federal immigration policies, she said. “There is very little evidence anything big is likely to happen soon.”…
#law #Trump #MilitaryState #Autocracy
While it is not unusual for #NationalGuard units to be deployed for domestic emergencies within their states, including for civil disturbances, this “is really strange because essentially nothing is happening,” Cohn said.
“Crime is going down. We don’t have major protests or civil disturbances. There is no significant resistance from states” to federal immigration policies, she said. “There is very little evidence anything big is likely to happen soon.”…
#law #Trump #MilitaryState #Autocracy
Nonilex