From Joyce Vance:
“First, a reminder about the importance of peaceful, nonviolent protests, the approach successfully adopted by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to fuel the civil rights movement in the 1960s. When Dr. King organized sit-ins in public spaces in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, the images that were projected across the country showed white Birmingham police officers turning pressurized hoses and aggressive police dogs against peaceful demonstrators. Peaceful protests forced Birmingham’s entrenched, racist police chief Bull Connor to resign. Public spaces like lunch counters and bus stations in Birmingham were ultimately desegregated.
The thing is, peaceful protest works. It can move mountains. It’s also essential, in a moment when the Trump administration will be alert to seize on anything even approaching violence to tamp down on protests that are getting underway and going national, to make sure that protests stay peaceful. In 2020, as Black Lives Matter protests spread across the country, Trump threatened he’d use the military to bring them under control. “We have the greatest country in the world,” the president declared. “We’re going to keep it safe.” He doesn’t need any excuses.
After peaceful protesters were tear-gassed to clear Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., so Trump could have a political photo opportunity, appetite for these overreaches seemed to diminish, although the threats continued periodically. But memories dim, and here we are in 2025 with growing discontent towards a president who has raised taxes and cut jobs, all without any apparent benefit to the American people. Trump might try to take advantage of minor incidents, or even plants who engage in violence, to impose the Insurrection Act and use the military to put a halt to Americans who are out on the streets exercising their First Amendment rights.
Could Trump turn out the American military against protestors if something like that were to happen? Normally, the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. It explicitly outlaws using the armed forces to enforce the law within our borders, unless that action is expressly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress. Enter the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to deploy the military in American cities and on our streets in very narrow circumstances involving insurrection, rebellion, or extreme civil unrest. In those circumstances, the military can only be used for “emergency needs” towards the goal of reestablishing civilian control as quickly as possible.
But, as the Brennan Center has explained, “The problem is that the Insurrection Act creates a giant loophole in the Posse Comitatus Act rather than a limited exception to it.” The Act was adopted in 1792, and it hasn’t been updated since 1874. Its language is broad and gives presidents plenty of discretion to, for instance, use the military to arrest American citizens engaged in protest, if a president calls what’s going on an insurrection, rebellion, or civil unrest. In an 1827 case, Martin v. Mott, the Supreme Court ruled that it is up to the president to decide whether the Insurrection Act should be invoked and that the courts may not review his decision. A president inclined to absorb power from a vacuum into his own hands has plenty to work with, as Trump has done, claiming we are being invaded by the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang to justify invoking the Alien Enemies Act and deporting people. So here we are.
Concerns about the Insurrection Act don’t mean that Americans should obey in advance, giving up their right to assemble and protest peacefully. But it does mean we need to understand the way the Trump administration could respond to organized protests as we head toward Saturday, April 5, when many Americans plan to participate in protests that are being organized locally but coordinated nationally. It helps us understand why peaceful protest, which is proven successful, is also essential.
In July of 2024, Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation and one of the chief architects of Project 2025, proudly announced on Steve Bannon’s podcast, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.” Donald Trump disclaimed all knowledge of Project 2025 shortly after reporting on that came to light. But we have learned since that Project 2025 was always the plan, and it’s being implemented now. We are forewarned.
George Orwell wrote 1984: “One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.” We still have a Constitution, and we should each find the best way for us, personally, to ensure it stays that way. We have the obligation to find ways to speak up, even if we fear imposition of the Insurrection Act.
Be like Cory Booker. Be willing to stand up for what you believe in.
Subscribe to Joyce Vance’s newsletter and/or her contributions on SubStack. I also suggest you listen to Jasmine Crockett, a member of Congress from TX who is amazingly articulate and willing to call it like she sees it as she does here in defense of our First Amendment Rights.
Remember and Honor:
Thank you for this!
All so true. Peaceful protest works. It works because of the contrast between the peaceful protestors in the face of an agitated opposition. If wholly fails as soon as anyone (adjacent protestors, plants, or folks who just can’t keep it calm) reacts beyond the primary message. The college kids who started the civil rights movement with their lunch counter sit-in’s trained for months to not react to being cursed, spit on, and having cigarettes put out on their hands. It only worked because they stayed on message and didn’t react. David Halbertam’s book, The Children is informative and inspiring. Also, these aren’t the Trump Tariffs. They are the Republican Tariffs. If they aren’t going to lead and they aren’t going to affirm what they know (Tariffs are taxes on Us and will not improve Our economy) they need to find new jobs. The fulcrum is Congress, it’s not the Executive.
So on point!
Thanks for sharing this. I did not know they actually trained, but what a good idea! I don’t worry too much about our local demonstrations because we are lucky to live among rational, thinking, people, not known for violence. I was in Alabama for basic training in the WACss and was shocked that when I went off base, I experienced segregated “whites only” bathrooms and water fountains and the like. This was Oct 1967-March 1968. Being a native Californian, I had no idea. It opened my eyes.
Kate – I’d love to hear about what you saw and experienced. I’ve only recently realized the world I was taught I lived in, only started a few years after I was born (and may not last beyond my generation the way we are going). I was born in 1974 (same year women were allowed to have their own credit cards). Roe v Wade, 1973 (same year Amherst College’s official dinnerware stopped showing gentlemen on horses with swords chasing Native Americans). California enclaves stopped including racial restrictions, late 70’s. I could go on and on. The Children is a great read. Those early lunch counter kids included John Lewis (then just a barely educated son of sharecroppers), Diane Nash, and Marion Barry. They were scared but brave enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other. As an aside, it seems so simple – We declare martial law with Dolly Parton in charge. We just do as Dolly says until we have each other’s back again. She, like John Lewis and Diane Nash, is the best of US.
We’ll be on the street in our coastal town up north … hopefully, too remote for the Feds to care.
even though the Rumps back swing is crucially limited by his tummy..he counts himself as an avid fan- course owner & I understand one of his daughters is close with Tiger Woods . Since its likely Rumpus will attend the Pebble Beach tournament..how can we influence his visit negatively? I’d like to see a floating flotilla of every sort, surfers, paddlers , yachts, skin divers and rafters making the scene off the 18th hole where surely all networks will spread the word we are disgusted with his presence here or in America.
extra- my banner will read – DUMP THE RUMP