Why the president hasn’t sent the military into Minneapolis.
Slate • • nation
Key Points:
- President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces in Minnesota amid protests against federal immigration enforcement, despite opposition from local leaders and communities.
- The Insurrection Act, dating back to 1792, allows the president to call in the military to suppress insurrections or enforce federal laws but has historically been used sparingly and with compelling factual justification.
- Legal experts argue that current protests in the Twin Cities do not meet the criteria for invoking the Act, as the state governments are not impeding federal law enforcement, and isolated incidents by protesters do not justify military intervention.
- Political and legal challenges, including potential lawsuits and opposition within Congress, have likely restrained the Trump administration from invoking the Act so far.
