Trump Says He May Invoke the Insurrection Act, Here's What to Know About It
Trump Says He May Invoke the Insurrection Act, Here's What to Know About It

Trump Says He May Invoke the Insurrection Act, Here's What to Know About It In prepared remarks in the White House Rose Garden on Monday, President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the U.S. military to put down violent protests in U.S. cities.

If Trump does deploy the U.S. military, he will do so under the Insurrection Act, a law signed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807.

The last time the act was invoked was in 1992 during the L.A.

Riots.

It was also used in 1968 following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Trump stated that he would deploy the U.S. military, regardless of whether state official requested deployment.

In order to do this, Trump must first issue an order for "insurgents" to disperse in a clearly laid out time frame.

The Insurrection Act allows unrequested deployment to quell "unlawful assemblages," rebellion or when the laws become unenforceable.

However, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the deployment of military troops for use as police forces.

Critics of Trump's use of the Insurrection Act include NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and Illinois Governor J.B.

Pritzker.