Over 1.1 million National Guard members have served overseas since the Septemattacks on the United States. The President can also deploy National Guard troops overseas. Under the Insurrection Act, the President can call upon (or 'federalize') the National Guard to suppress a domestic rebellion or enforce federal laws. State governors can activate the National Guard during local or statewide emergencies like hurricanes, protests, and riots. Most of the time, the National Guard is under state control.

In 2020, state governors deployed the National Guard to gatherings that protested police violence and to assist with COVID-19 relief.Įach state and the District of Columbia has its own National Guard, staffed by civilians who serve on a part-time basis. Government officials sometimes 'Call in the National Guard' during civil unrest and natural disasters. Rather than resort to martial law, most states rely on emergency or police powers to protect public safety and quell civil unrest. Federal courts generally won't second-guess whether a state governor's declaration of martial law is necessary, but they will review whether state actions taken under martial law are constitutional. Typically, a governor's power to declare martial law originates in the state's constitution.īut even under martial law, state officials must comply with the U.S. Supreme Court has explicitly held that individual states have the power to declare martial law within their borders. Kennedy invoked the Insurrection Act in 19 to send federal troops to Mississippi and Alabama to enforce civil rights laws. §§ 251 to 253 (2020).) But federal troops deployed pursuant to the Insurrection Act are a supplement to civilian government, not a replacement. While lacking authority to unilaterally declare martial law, under the Insurrection Act the President has limited authority to deploy troops to suppress a domestic rebellion and enforce federal law. II, § 2.) But Congress regulates when and where the military can be used for activities, like civilian law enforcement, typically associated with martial law. Supreme Court decision clearly states who has the authority to declare martial law and under what circumstances.Ĭonstitutional law scholars who study executive power and the origin of martial law note that the President is the commander in chief of the military. The United States Constitution doesn't explicitly mention martial law. The federal government's authority to invoke martial law is less settled and has been used sparingly. Historically, state governors are most likely to declare martial law in cities and counties in their jurisdictions. Bush deployed the National Guard to help state and local law enforcement suppress riots in Los Angeles. For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, federal troops used military helicopters to conduct search and rescue missions that local governments were unable to do themselves. Domestic military assistance supports, rather than supplants, civilian government. Federal and state authorities are much more likely to request 'domestic military assistance,' which is not the same as martial law.

Since the United States was founded in 1776, government officials have declared martial law roughly 68 times. When martial law is in effect, military commanders, not elected officials, make laws soldiers, not local police, enforce laws and ordinary citizens accused of defying martial law might face military tribunals instead of civilian courts.Ĭivilian governments rarely invoke martial law. The defining feature of martial law is the displacement of the civilian government by the military. Martial Law or Domestic Military Assistance? In the United States, government officials have invoked martial law during war, labor disputes, natural disasters, and in times of civil unrest. Martial law is the temporary substitution of military authority for civilian government in an emergency.

Safest place during martial law