LA Protests & Posse Comitatus: Despite Newsome's Wishes, Trump is Bringing the Whole Posse Along...

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Posse Comitatus - coming to a city near you…

“Posse Comitatus" (Latin for "power of the county" or “force of the country”) refers to a group of citizens called upon by a sheriff or other law enforcement official to assist in maintaining peace, conducting rescues, or apprehending criminals. It's also a historical term for a group of people assembled for a specific task, often related to law enforcement.

What Does the Posse Comitatus Act Do?

It mainly prohibits using soldiers rather than civilians as a posse within the nation’s borders. This “Act” was passed in 1878 - after the Civil war and Reconstruction had ended. The initial purpose was not an honorable one, as it ushered in a protective manner for white supremacists - as they regained political power both in the southern states and the new Congress after the Confederacy had fallen. It was used to prevent the federal military from intervening in racial discrimination in southern states - to ensure that Jim Crow laws were not challenged by military force.

A Longstanding Exception to Posse Comitatus: The Insurrection Act

The Insurrection Act was originally adopted on March 3, 1807, when President Thomas Jefferson signed it into law. The Ninth Congress approved the legislation, which authorized the president to use US military and National Guard troops to suppress domestic unrest. Throughout history it has been used about thirty times to quell major issues including: border disputes, slave rebellions, white supremacist insurgency, and race riots - the last time invoked was during the horrific beating by Los Angeles police of Rodney King - a black man in 1992 stopped and beaten unmercifully by police after a car chase, prompting the LA riots that ensued.

That incident in 1992, prompted the US president at the time, George H.W. Bush to invoke the Insurrection Act, when then Republican Governor of California Pete Wilson, requested military aid to quell the looting, violence and civil unrest in Los Angeles following the Rodney King trial.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice:

The Insurrection Act needs a major overhaul. Originally enacted in 1792, the law grants the president the authority to deploy the U.S. military domestically and use it against Americans under certain conditions. While there are rare circumstances in which such authority might be necessary, the law, which has not been meaningfully updated in over 150 years, is dangerously overbroad and ripe for abuse.

The Difference: Posse Comitatus vs Insurrection Act