As Trump threatens more Guard troops in US cities, here’s what the law allows

By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press WASHINGTON AP Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington President Donald Trump has openly mused about sending troops to selected of the nation s preponderance Democratic cities including Chicago and Baltimore claiming they are needed to crack down on crime Related Articles Sen Ernst of Iowa is expected to announce next month that she won t run for reelection in Appeals court blocks Trump administration from ending legal protections for Venezuelans Texas governor signs new voting maps pushed by Trump to gain five GOP seats in Congress in What to know about the US warships sent to South America and the reaction in Venezuela What to know about a Texas bill to let residents sue out-of-state abortion pill providers The threats to expand a federal intervention have legal experts and specific military bureaucrats raising concerns that Trump is considering novel options to use National Guard troops in American cities that could set up conflicts not seen since the civil rights era Though largest part violent crime has fallen in contemporary years in the cities Trump has called out the Republican president declared Democratic Illinois Gov JB Pritzker should be calling me and he should be saying Can you send over the troops please It s out of control Whether Trump can repeat what he s done in LA and the nation s capital call up the National Guard and have it assist a surge of federal law enforcement and immigration officers is an open question and likely to become a point of contention should he press forward Here s a look at how Trump has used troops in U S cities what the law allows and what could come next How Trump already has used the National Guard Trump first deployed troops to Los Angeles in early June over Gov Gavin Newsom s objections by putting the California National Guard under federal jurisdiction known as Title to protect federal property from protests over immigration raids Besides Guard members Trump later sent working duty Marines and California sued over the intervention The Guard went on to help protect officers during immigration arrests While Trump pushed the limits of the law the lawsuit centers on whether the president was allowed to use the Guard to closely shadow federal law enforcement and whether that runs afoul of the prohibition on using the military as law enforcement known as the Posse Comitatus Act commented Todd Huntley director of the National Measure Law Plan at the Georgetown University Law Center Meanwhile the unique status of the District of Columbia National Guard Trump is their commander in chief means he has been able to use it for everything from armed patrols to trash cleanup without any legal issues Because it is on state and not federal orders legal restrictions on law enforcement don t come into effect Where we have a big question mark is whether the governor of a state has to consent to the sending of troops to his state stated Huntley a retired Navy captain and judge advocate How this could play out in Chicago and other cities The Trump administration is planning to surge officers to the nation s third-largest city for an immigration crackdown two U S executives revealed The Department of Homeland Defense petitioned Naval Station Great Lakes outside Chicago for sponsorship on immigration operations including with facilities and logistics the base stated this week The Illinois National Guard and the base mentioned they had not received requests regarding a mobilization of troops to Chicago If Trump wants the freedom to use the National Guard as he pleases in Chicago the easiest legal path is to invoke the Insurrection Act a vaguely worded law that allows the president to deploy federal troops inside the U S to conduct law enforcement an exception to the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act The law offers sweeping powers to the president envisioning armed conflict within the United States The orders would be given by him and the governor of the receiving state would not have a say in whether he allows them into the state or not or allows them to conduct a mission in the state Huntley commented However Huntley calls this the nuclear option A D C National Guard official who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation stated invoking the Insurrection Act over a broad topic like crime could allow the Guard to be deployed indefinitely Another possibility is Trump deploying the D C Guard which he commands to another state the official commented If the D C Guard is put on federal orders something Trump has the power to do it could lead to particular rare situations including federalized D C Guardsmen sent to another state that in turn could activate its own Guard as a counter Huntley mentioned The possibility is not without precedent The resolution of that could be basically what we saw in Alabama during the civil rights era To take the ability of that state governor of using state National Guard forces away the president could completely federalize them Huntley disclosed In President John F Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard as part of the now-famous standoff with Gov George Wallace who refused to step aside and allow Black students to integrate the University of Alabama Wallace eventually relented Members of the Louisiana National Guard patrol Union Station Thursday Aug in Washington AP Photo Mariam Zuhaib How Trump s new executive order on the National Guard affects what happens next In an executive order signed Monday Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to create a specialized unit within the D C Guard dedicated to ensuring community safety and order He also directed Hegseth to ensure every state s Guard is ready to assist federal and local law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the society safety and order when needed It also calls for each to have units reasonably available for rapid mobilization The Pentagon has not given more details of what Trump s order will mean for the National Guard A defense official endorsed that Hegseth s office was aware of the order and that they were reviewing it and its specific requirements All state Guards already have a reaction force that is aimed at responding to a wide variety of incidents with an initial force of - personnel within eight hours and a follow-on force of up to personnel within hours according to a National Guard fact sheet And the D C National Guard already has a unit that is made up entirely of soldiers trained as military police