![]() "There's no insurrection," Hoffmeister added. He would have to make a public proclamation and that would expose his objectives and partisan rationale," he said.įurthermore, it's unlikely that active-duty military would follow through with the order in such a case where there isn't violence or insurrection, Banks said. If Trump were plotting to invoke the act in some effort to prevent the transition of power to Biden, he'd have to declare it, as part of the provision in the act requiring essentially a public cease and desist order for the insurrectionists, Banks said. While the law is broad and gives the president discretion in its use, Banks said there are certain conditions that would need to be met before a state's National Guard or active duty military were deployed under the act. Could Trump still invoke the Insurrection Act? "What's so dramatically different now of course is that the person who would decide to utilize the Insurrection Act is the very guy who is precipitating the violence," Banks added. Meanwhile, former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund also said he requested that the National Guard be placed on standby in the days before the riot but that House and Senate security officials turned him down. Ralph Northam was also prepared to send his state's National Guard. The Washington Post reported that Virginia Gov. We kept running it up the flagpole – our generals talking to the National Guard generals,” Hogan told CNN’s "State of the Union" program. without the OK, and that was quite some time. “Our guard mobilized and was ready, but we couldn't actually cross over the border into D.C. The Department of Defense's approval is required for another state's National Guard to be deployed in the district. Larry Hogan said Sunday his National Guard troops were ready to assist but he could not get approval to cross over into the district. "They had more than enough forces to stop that, but they have to call them up," Hoffmeister said.Īdditionally, nearby governors and the district's Mayor Muriel Bowser sought more National Guard support that was slowed by the federal government's response. Invoking the Act would have further allowed Trump to send active-duty military to the district when he already in effect had control over its National Guard and federal police. given the federal government's control of the district's National Guard and federal law enforcement. Hoffmeister and Banks said, however, there was no need for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act on Jan. 'Unfathomable': Capitol Police security breakdown prompts chief's resignation "The Chairman indicated the memo was mundane and more of a cautionary thing as opposed to preparatory," she added. ![]() Lindsey Walton, director of communications for Mendelson, confirmed to USA TODAY that the memo was presented to the council. “We had every reason to suspect there would be some sort of trouble,” Phil Mendelson, chairman of the district council told BuzzFeed News, adding “our concern was that it would be fomented by the president who would say: ‘Look, there’s rioting and chaos – we need to take over the police department and bring in the National Guard.’” Rioters chanted "Stop the Steal," falsely claiming Trump had won the election.īuzzFeed News reported Sunday that local lawmakers in the district had received a briefing from the district's attorney general's office in the days before the riots about the implications if Trump were to invoke the Insurrection Act and how it would affect the local police department. Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College vote and President-elect Joe Biden's win. Read this: Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund's request for National Guard backup was denied, he says in interview How would the Insurrection Act have applied to the Capitol riot?Ī deadly mob that Trump incited stormed the Capitol last Wednesday, breaking in, attacking Capitol Police officers and trashing offices as some stormed onto the Senate floor. It would apply to situations where the rule of law has broken down so much that law is no longer in place. "It's really an alien concept" in the U.S., he said. ![]() "Martial law is essentially the absence of law," Banks added.
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