Capitol, Trump said that he’s focused on 'ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power' and that 'a new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. In the videotaped speech, a day after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. 7 speech that he will support the transition to a new administration. Trump has not done this, and he signaled in a Jan. 'If the situation does not resolve itself, the President may issue an executive order to send in troops.' 'If the President decides to respond to such a situation, generally upon the recommendation of the Attorney General and, if necessary, the request of the governor, he must first issue a proclamation ordering the insurgents to disperse within a limited time,' the CRS report says, citing Title 10 of the U.S. The Congressional Research Service says that it is legal convention under the act for the president to first issue a proclamation to get the situation under control before using the powers in the federal law. But there’s no evidence that this is true. Some social media posts went so far as to claim that Trump just signed and invoked the act.

Moreover, most of these posts contain information that’s misleading or just plain wrong.Ĭlaim: 'Trump already signed the Insurrection Act.' However, their descriptions seem to reflect martial law at its most extreme: the suspension of civil authority and military control of civilian functions such as the courts.Īs of this writing, there’s no indication that Trump is planning to invoke the Insurrection Act or impose martial law. Many people pushing the theory that Trump will invoke martial law don’t specify what form they expect it to take. Martial law, by contrast, is a concept that doesn’t have a legal definition in the U.S. It was most recently invoked during the 1992 Los Angeles riots after four white police officers were acquitted in the roadside beating of a Black man, Rodney King, and during Hurricane Hugo in 1989, when widespread looting was reported in St. history, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The act has been used to send the armed forces to quell civil disturbances a number of times during U.S. The Insurrection Act is a federal law that empowers the president to deploy the military to suppress certain situations including civil disorder, insurrection or rebellion. Social media users are spreading a variety of claims that President Donald Trump will either impose martial law or invoke the Insurrection Act to prevent Joe Biden from being inaugurated on Jan.

Signs of martial law coming