Trump’s broad definition of ‘insurrection’ looms over Los Angeles

In September 2020, President Donald Trump suggested he was hamstrung to crack down on at-times-violent racial justice demonstrations in cities like Portland, Oregon.

In September 2020, President Donald Trump suggested he was hamstrung to crack down on at-times-violent racial justice demonstrations in cities like Portland, Oregon. “Look, we have laws. We have to go by the laws,” Trump said at an ABC News town hall, adding: “We can’t call in the National Guard unless we’re requested by a governor.” Trump noted there was one way he could do that – by invoking the Insurrection Act – but added that “there’s no reason to ever do that, even in a Portland case.” Something has clearly changed since then. Trump this weekend became the first president in about 60 years to call in the National Guard without a request from a governor – to help quell protests in Los Angeles against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. He did so without invoking the Insurrection Act – the 1807 law that allows the president to deploy American soldiers to police US streets in extreme circumstances. That means the guard has limited authorities that don’t include law enforcement, as CNN legal analyst Steve Vladeck noted. Even that more limited decision, though, has been criticized as overzealous and heavy-handed by some experts, given fears it could inflame the situation.