The Posse Comitatus Act, enacted in 1878, is a U.S. federal law that prohibits the use of the U.S. military for civilian law enforcement purposes with the punishment of a fine and up to two years in prison.
It reflects a historical concern after the Civil War about the potential for military overreach in domestic affairs and aims to maintain a complete separation between the military and civilian law enforcement. The title of the act comes from the legal concept of posse comitatus, the authority under which a county sheriff, or another law officer, can conscript any able-bodied person to assist in keeping the peace.
In Russia, the Federal Service of Troops of National Guard of the Russian Federation officially known as the Rosgvardiya is a federal executive body which is responsible for law enforcement, internal security, counter-terrorism and riot control of the Russian Federation. It is an agency that was created by Vladimir Putin, under the president’s powers as commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. The National Guard states that its mission is to secure Russia’s borders, take charge of gun control, combat terrorism and organized crime, protect public order and guard important state facilities. Additionally, the National Guard serves the function of suppressing civil strife.
Now, the Trump administration is looking at plans to set up a National Guard “quick reaction force” to deploy to any U.S. city to quell protests or other unrest. Pentagon documents lay out the parameters for a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force,” calling for hundreds of guard members outfitted with weapons and riot gear to be on constant standby and deployable in as little as one hour. The proposal, if enacted, would be another expansion of President Trump’s illegal use of U.S. troops on American soil. In a purely political move, Trump just declared he was deploying 800 National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., to combat what he claimed was a scourge of violent crime and drug use, even as D.C. police data shows violent incidents in the city have fallen off sharply since 2023.
Documents compiled by National Guard officials lay out a plan in which U.S. troops would be split into two groups of 300 and stationed at military bases in Alabama and Arizona. The proposal also contains discussions about the potential societal implications in setting up such a program, as well as budget projections, which show the effort could cost hundreds of millions of dollars if military aircraft are needed to be ready at all times. The program could be created and funded at the earliest in fiscal 2027 if using the Pentagon’s annual budgetary process, with an open question as to whether it could begin sooner through other means of funding.
Trump seems to be copying actions enforced by other dictators such as Putin. Already convicted of 34 felonies, Trump shows what he thinks of following the law. Will the American public, Congress and the courts allow him to continue breaking this law?
Larry Kerschner
Centralia
