President Donald Trump mulled invoking the Insurrection Act, which would give him more leeway to use the military for domestic purposes, as he deploys troops to Los Angeles in response to protests prompted by ICE raids in the region.
“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it,” Trump said June 10 during an event in the White House. “We’ll see. But I can tell you, last night was terrible. The night before that was terrible.”
Trump deployed the California National Guard to Los Angeles over the objection of Gov. Gavin Newsom, sparking a lawsuit from the state. Marines were also sent to help the guard after protests erupted over his immigration enforcement efforts.
The troops are limited to protecting federal property and law enforcement officers. The Insurrection Act would give Trump authority to use them more broadly.
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Trump said there were parts of Los Angeles on June 9 where “you could have called it an insurrection. It was terrible.”
Newsom described Trump’s actions as “the acts of a dictator” and accused the president of “inciting and provoking violence,” “creating mass chaos,” and “militarizing cities.”
Legal experts say invoking the Insurrection Act is an extreme step. It has been done 30 times in U.S. history.
“The invocation of it would be viewed as a pretty dramatic act,” said Duke Law Professor H. Jefferson Powell.
Powell said the law is “dangerously broad.”
The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked was in May 1992, by President George H.W. Bush at the request of California’s governor, to quell rioting in Los Angeles after four White police officers were acquitted for beating Black motorist Rodney King.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump mulls Insurrection Act as he sends troops to LA
