700 Marines Deployed to California - What About Posse Comitatus?

What you see taking place with President Donald Trump sending in the National Guard and Marines is nothing short of authoritarian.  Yet, many cheer it on despite the Posse Comitatus Act which forbids the President from using the Armed Forces for “law enforcement.”  In fact, the very term “posse comitatus” refers to citizens (the militia, Article I, Section 8, Clauses 15-16 US Constitution) who are summoned to assist the county sheriff in both keeping the peace and apprehending criminals.  The very phrase itself is Latin for “the power of the county”.  Yet, here’s a lawless president, who did nothing during the summer of love violence throughout the country in Trump 1.0, now doing this!  No wonder there are people in opposition to it, and of course, the blind followers of Trump who’ve been deceived into thinking he’s acting on their behalf soaking it all up.

Mac Slavo has more on the deployment of the Guard and Marines to California.

The United States Pentagon has deployed 700 Marines to California to help quell the riots and protests against ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). The violent protests were sparked by the arrest of several suspected illegal immigrants.

The protests erupted on Friday after the immigration authorities arrested over 40 people at a Home Depot parking lot and at the Ambiance Apparel clothing manufacturer on suspicion of using “fictitious employee documents.” Demonstrations denouncing Trump’s hardline immigration policy quickly spiraled into looting and violent clashes with police. –RT

The Marines will support National Guard troops, whose presence on the streets is expected to increase to 2,000 by Wednesday, according to Reuters. California Governor Gavin Newsom has said that the deployment of troops to California is “unlawful.”

Trump Has Ordered The National Guard To Squash The Riots In California

The troops will help protect the ruling class’s federal property against rioters, the country’s Northern Command has said.  They aren’t there for the safety or well-being of any member of the slave class. Instead, the goal is to protect the interests of the power structure.

“We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers – even if Gavin Newsom will not,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X, according to a report by RT. The Pentagon announced later on Monday that “an additional” 2,000 National Guard members will be called to assist immigration agents and police.

Newsom also accused Trump and the current ruling administration of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating California’s state sovereignty. “These are the acts of a dictator, not a president,” he wrote in a post on X.

“They shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president,” Newsom added on X. He earlier urged Trump to recall the National Guard.

Trump used inflammatory rhetoric while condemning the “insurrectionists.” He vowed to protect law enforcement officers, but will make sure the slaves are left to their own devices.  “IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT, and I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

What’s  the problem here?  Trump is not the one to call up the militia, which purpose is the execute the laws of the Union, repel invasions and suppress insurrections, according to Article I, Section 8, Clause 15.  Congress’ duty is to call them up for that purpose under the direction of the President, who becomes Commander-in-chief once that happens.

According to the Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 1385, which was passed in 1878, the use of federal armies to enforce domestic law would require an act of Congress.  Congress.gov points out:

The Posse Comitatus Act outlaws the willful use of any part of the Army or Air Force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress. History supplies the grist for an argument that the Constitution prohibits military involvement in civilian affairs subject to only limited alterations by Congress or the President, but the courts do not appear to have ever accepted the argument unless violation of more explicit constitutional command could also be shown. The express statutory exceptions include the legislation that allows the President to use military force to suppress insurrection or to enforce federal authority, 10 U.S.C. Sections 251-255, and laws that permit the Department of Defense to provide federal, state and local police with information, equipment, and personnel, 10 U.S.C. §§ 271-284.

Case law indicates that “execution of the law” in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act occurs (a) when the Armed Forces perform tasks assigned to an organ of civil government, or (b) when the Armed Forces perform tasks assigned to them solely for purposes of civilian government. Questions concerning the act’s application arise most often in the context of assistance to civilian police. At least in this context, the courts have held that, absent a recognized exception, the Posse Comitatus Act is violated when (1) civilian law enforcement officials make “direct active use” of military investigators; or (2) the use of the military “pervades the activities” of the civilian officials; or (3) the military is used so as to subject “citizens to the exercise of military power which was regulatory, prescriptive, or compulsory in nature.” The act is not violated when the Armed Forces conduct activities for a military purpose.

The language of the act mentions only the Army and the Air Force, but it is applicable to the Navy and Marines by virtue of administrative action and commands of other laws. The law enforcement functions of the Coast Guard have been expressly authorized by act of Congress and consequently cannot be said to be contrary to the act. The act has been applied to the National Guard when it is in federal service, to civilian employees of the Armed Forces, and to off-duty military personnel. The act probably only applies within the geographical confines of the United States, but supplemental provisions of 10 U.S.C. §§ 271-284 appear to apply worldwide.

Finally, the act is a criminal statute under which there has been but a handful of known prosecutions. Although violations will on rare occasions result in the exclusion of evidence, the dismissal of criminal charges, or a civil cause of action, as a practical matter compliance is ordinarily the result of military self-restraint.

This report provides an historical analysis of the use of the Armed Forces to execute domestic law and of the Posse Comitatus Act, including their apparent theoretical and constitutional underpinnings. The report then outlines the current application of the act as well as its statutory exceptions, and reviews the consequences of its violation. This report appears in abridged form as CRS Report R42669, The Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: A Sketch.

Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media