What is the Insurrection Act of 1807? Will it allow Trump to declare martial law on April 20?
- A report assessing the U.S.-Mexico border situation and potentially recommending invoking the Insurrection Act is due to President Trump.
- The report, ordered by President Trump in January, is a response to a declared national emergency at the southern border.
- The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows presidential deployment of military domestically under specific circumstances.
Less than a week remains until a report including recommendations on actions to secure the U.S.-Mexico border will be delivered to the president's desk. Among these recommendations may be the invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807.
When President Donald Trump took office for his second term in January, he signed an executive order titled "Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States."
"Because of the gravity and emergency of this present danger and imminent threat, it is necessary for the Armed Forces to take all appropriate action to assist the Department of Homeland Security in obtaining full operational control of the southern border," the executive order said.
Trump also included in the order that within 90 days of the order's proclamation, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security must submit a report regarding conditions at the southern border.
The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security must include, "recommendations regarding additional actions that may be necessary to obtain complete operational control of the southern border, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807," in this report, according to the executive order.
As the 90-day report was signed Jan. 20, the deadline is approaching fast. Is Trump expected to declare martial law? Here's what we know so far.
What is the Insurrection Act of 1807? Will Trump invoke the Insurrection Act?
The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the president to deploy military forces inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or enforce the law in certain situations, Law and policy organization the Brennan Center for Justice explains.
The act is the main exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars federal military forces - including federal armed forces and National Guard troops who have been called into federal service - from participating in civilian law enforcement activities.
It is not yet certain whether Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act. We do know, however, that the report from the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security scheduled to land on Trump's desk on April 20 is to include suggestions on "whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807."
What is martial law?
"Martial law" refers to the replacement of civilian government by military rule, and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law may continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and civil liberties may be suspended for as long as martial law is enacted.
The Brennan Center writes that, while the term has no established definition, it is generally understood as "a power that allows the military to take over the role of civilian government in an emergency." The Brennan Center adds that the Insurrection Act "generally permits the military to assist civilian authorities (whether state or federal), not take their place."
A president has not declared martial law since the Civil War.
Has martial law ever been declared in NC?
Martial law has been declared in the state of N.C. once, in 1870 by Gov. William Woods Holden, who declared martial law in two counties in an attempt to combat rising Ku Klux Klan activity.
According to NorthCarolinaHistory.org, Holden hired a former Union commander, George W. Kirk, and his militia of about 670 soldiers to round up roughly 100 Klan leaders.
How many times has martial law been declared in the US?
Martial law has been declared at least 68 times throughout the history of the U.S.
Presley Bo Tyler, Paste BN Network, contributed to this report.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the Paste BN Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.