Thread by @RetroReport

1/10 Former military leaders incl. Gen. Jim Mattis say Trump’s threat to send active duty troops into states he calls “weak” in dealing with protesters would erode “a trusted bond” with civilian society. History shows the move is almost always controversial. #LessonsFromHistory

2/10 Under the 1807 Insurrection Act, a president's power to “suppress rebellion” using active duty troops - or to federalize a state's National Guard - is “open-ended,” per @steve_vladek. Rarely, the act has been used to promote, not suppress, civil rights protests.

3/10 In 1957, Pres. Eisenhower took control of the Arkansas National Guard away from Gov. Faubus (below), who used it to stop integration of Little Rock Central High School. He also sent Army paratroopers to escort students and stop protests against them.

4/10 Parents of the Little Rock Nine, the black students who entered high school amid angry mobs, sent a telegram to Eisenhower later, saying his actions had strengthened their faith in democracy.
eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/…

5/10 In 1963, Gov. George Wallace blocked the door of the Univ. of Alabama so two black students could not attend. To enforce desegregation, Pres. Kennedy federalized all 17,000 state National Guardsmen - something he said he did reluctantly.

6/10 In 1965, Pres. Johnson used his power to protect the legendary Selma, Alabama voting rights march from counterprotestors and white vigilantes. In a remarkable moment, Johnson took on Gov. Wallace, a fellow Southerner.

7/10 But in 1968, Johnson did deploy federal troops to quell protests and disturbances involving African-Americans in several cities after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, at the request of local officials.

8/10 The most recent use of the Insurrection Act was in 1992 under Pres. George H.W. Bush, who sent troops to California during the violence after Rodney King’s beating, after an appeal by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.

9/10 Defense Secretary Mark Esper (@EsperDoD) distanced himself from Trump, saying use of active duty troops is a “last resort” for “urgent and dire” situations. “We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act.”

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

10/10 Calling the move “authoritarian,” some states vow to go to court if Trump tries to deploy troops without their permission. DoD has already moved troops from Ft. Bragg and elsewhere to locations near Washington, despite its mayor’s opposition, to be ready if needed.