Read on Twitter
I awoke to a great scoop from @JimLaPorta this morning -- Military Police units at Fort Bragg and Fort Drum are on 4-hour PTDO to respond to the situation in Minneapolis. MPs at Fort Riley and Carson are on 24-hour PTDO.
A thread. 1/n https://apnews.com/cf9947a3ca9f3225f9645fd330403eae
A thread. 1/n https://apnews.com/cf9947a3ca9f3225f9645fd330403eae
First, as of right now, no formal decision has been made to send MP units to Minnesota. But if they were to be sent, what might they be doing?
2/n
2/n
First, let's talk about the Posse Comitatus Act, which was passed sometime during the Reconstruction Era. Essentially, Federal Troops cannot be used in a law enforcement capacity against US citizens, with certain exceptions (we'll get to that in a bit) https://www.northcom.mil/Newsroom/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/563993/the-posse-comitatus-act/
If sent to Minneapolis, Federal troops could potentially perform duties in support of law enforcement but not actually enforce the law. Perhaps manning radios, building barriers, medical assistance, etc.
4/n
4/n
That said, there are notable exceptions. If the President invokes the Insurrection Act, Federal troops could be used. The act was amended after Hurricane Katrina to clarify the types of situations in which the President could invoke the act. 5/n
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/resources/disasters/Crockett.pdf
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/resources/disasters/Crockett.pdf
It's not without precedent, either. Following the assassination of MLK in 1968, LBJ signed an EO which ordered paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division to DC to quell rioting. The @82ndABNDiv has a good podcast on this. 6/n
Again, no decision has been made yet, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Especially after this latest bit of news which came in during my run. /end https://twitter.com/MNNationalGuard/status/1266740829416284160?s=20
