Liputan6.com, Jakarta In October 2025, President Donald Trump publicly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a federal law that allows for the deployment of the US military domestically.
This threat came amid legal challenges to his troop deployment efforts in several Democratic-led cities.
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Trump's threat specifically targeted cities like Portland and Chicago, where he claimed there was a "criminal insurrection" and a "crime" problem requiring federal intervention.
This came after federal judges in Oregon and Illinois issued rulings blocking or permitting the deployment of the National Guard.
“We have an Insurrection Act for a reason,” Trump said Monday.
“If I had to enact it, I’d do that. If people were being killed, and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure I do that.”
What is Insurrection Act?
The Insurrection Act is a United States federal law that authorizes the President to deploy the U.S. military and federalize National Guard units domestically.
Its primary purpose is to remove an insurrection against a state, if requested by the legislature or governor, or if the rebellion makes law enforcement impractical.
The act can also be used to address domestic violence or unlawful conspiracies that result in the deprivation of constitutional rights, particularly if the state is unable or refuses to protect those rights.
The Insurrection Act serves as an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which generally limits U.S. military deployment to enforcing civil law.
However, the Insurrection Act is not similar to martial law.
Martial law is generally understood as the power that allows the military to take over the role of civil government in extreme emergencies while the Insurrection Act allows the military to assist civil authorities.
Before deploying, the President must issue a public proclamation ordering the "insurgents" to disband within a specified time, usually 24-48 hours.
The Insurrection Act has been used repeatedly throughout American history.
Presidents George Washington and John Adams used it to respond to early rebellions, Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Civil War, and Ulysses Grant to suppress the Ku Klux Klan.
Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy also used it to enforce federally mandated desegregation, with the last use in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush during the Los Angeles riots.
Donald Trump's Insurrection Act Details
On Monday, October 6, 2025, President Donald Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act to deploy more troops to Democratic-led cities.
This threat came after a federal judge in Oregon temporarily halted the deployment of the National Guard in Portland, while another judge in Illinois allowed a similar move for now in Chicago.
Trump stated that he would consider using the Insurrection Act "if necessary," particularly if courts or state and local officials blocked his efforts to deploy the National Guard.
He mentioned that he would do so if "people were getting killed" and courts, governors, or mayors "blocked us," citing a "criminal insurrection" in Portland and a "crime" problem in Chicago as potential grounds for intervention.
The Trump administration has ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago to suppress protests and strengthen immigration enforcement.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker accused Trump of creating a pretext to use the Insurrection Act and using the military as a "political tool," highlighting the tension between the federal and state governments.
It's Not The First Time for Trump
This is not the first time Donald Trump has threatened to use the Insurrection Act.
In June 2020, President Trump warned that he would use the act in response to the George Floyd protests, despite federal officials persuading him not to do so.
In June 2025, Trump also considered using the Insurrection Act to suppress anti-deportation demonstrations in Los Angeles.
Furthermore, on January 20, 2025, his inauguration day, he declared a national emergency at the US southern border and ordered a report on whether to use the Insurrection Act for border control.