Headline RoundupJune 3rd, 2020

Perspectives: Responding to Civil Unrest with Military Mobilization

US Military, Donald Trump, US Constitution, Violence In America

Summary from the AllSides News Team

President Donald Trump is mulling over whether or not to send in federal troops in response to widespread unrest and public outrage following George Floyd's death in police custody last week. A report published Friday morning indicated the president may be backing away from his initial plan to invoke the military. Many left-rated voices argued that the president desires armed conflict, and urged the public to challenge his purportedly authoritarian rhetoric. Right-rated voices offered fewer opinions; some advocated the need for law and order while questioning the necessity of calling in federal troops, and others explored the history of U.S. presidents calling on the military in times of crisis.

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From the Right

We Need Law and Order, but Not Necessarily Federal Troops

National Review (News)

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National Review (News)

Analysis

In the Rose Garden yesterday evening, President Trump threatened to deploy the U.S. military to restore order in the American cities if mayors and governors fail to do it.

In his brief speech, Trump said the appropriate things about the George Floyd case (he called it a “brutal death”) and about the legal process underway in Minneapolis (“justice will be served”). He was also right about the biggest victims of disorder being people living in poor communities, about the mix of Antifa and looters causing the mayhem, and the need...

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From the Center

If President Trump does use the military to quell protests, he’ll likely rely on the same law used to aid the Civil Rights movement

Guest Writer - Center

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Opinion

After a week of both peaceful protests and violent chaos in the wake of George Floyd’s death, President Donald Trump announced, “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”

Is Trump’s warning just bluster? Does the president have the authority to send the military into American cities?

The answer to this question involves a web of legal provisions that help define...

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From the Left

Trump’s threats to deploy troops move America closer to anarchy

Washington Post

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Opinion

ATTORNEY GENERAL William P. Barr on Monday ordered federal police and National Guard forces to disperse protesters who were peacefully gathered in front of the White House. As flash munitions exploded and tear gas swirled, President Trump delivered a Rose Garden rant denouncing “acts of domestic terror” he said had taken place in Washington and other U.S. cities, and threatened to “deploy the United States military” to those that fail to “dominate the streets.”

The president then walked across Lafayette Square to pose with a Bible in front of a...

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