What to Know about the Insurrection Act Trump Wants to Invoke

President Donald Trump’s multiple deployments of military forces to US cities have little precedent in American history. Now, Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act to send troops to Minnesota to quell protests against federal immigration officials.

The 1807 act is one of several legal avenues available to a president to respond to domestic disturbances. Over the past year, Trump has relied on different legal foundations to send military forces to Los Angeles; Washington, DC; Chicago; Portland, Oregon; Memphis and New Orleans. He has faced a series of legal setbacks, including at the Supreme Court, that have prompted troop withdrawals in most of the cities. Mobilizing forces under the Insurrection Act would significantly escalate Trump’s campaign to assert military power at home.