Noem asks Hegseth to direct troops to "arrest rioters to help restore law and order"

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to direct military forces sent to the Los Angeles protests to arrest civilians — a request that would exceed authorities invoked by President Trump when he deployed the National Guard.

In a letter sent Sunday and obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Noem wrote to the defense secretary and asked him to give "Direction to DoD forces to either detain, just as they would at any federal facility guarded by military, lawbreakers under Title 18 until they can be arrested and processed by federal law enforcement, or arrest them." Under Title 18, defense personnel are generally prohibited from direct law enforcement activities, including arrests of civilians, but they may detain individuals temporarily to protect federal property or personnel under "exigent circumstances." Historically, the civil-military boundary and constitutional protections limit arrest authority to authorized federal law enforcement officers. 

Under the federal law known as Posse Comitatus, the U.S. military is prohibited from enforcing domestic laws, unless explicitly authorized by Congress. Unless Mr. Trump invokes the Insurrection Act — and he has not done so — there is no exception to Posse Comitatus.