The United States armed forces exist to defend the nation and its allies from external threats. The National Guard, under governors’ authority, is also called upon to respond to natural disasters and local emergencies. Presidents have rarely sent active-duty troops into American cities without state requests.
Trump has revived and expanded this practice. He first sent troops into Washington, D.C., exploiting the capital’s unique legal status. He then ordered deployments to Los Angeles, which courts ruled unlawful (the administration has appealed). More recently, he dispatched forces to Portland over the governor’s objections.
This week, Trump told senior military leaders he wanted to use Democratic-led cities as “training grounds” and pledged “full force” against protests targeting ICE (“Trump, Hegseth address military brass over ‘woke,’” Oct. 1).
That raises stark questions: What if he orders deployments to Minneapolis, Chicago, or New York? Would commanders obey? Would soldiers be directed to confront peaceful demonstrators, such as those expected at the NO KINGS protests on October 18?
It appears Trump is working to normalize domestic military deployments — so he can wield them at will against his political opponents.
Markus Fasel, Chippewa Falls
Use of militarized law enforcement is beyond ‘concerning’
“Concerning” is an understatement, regarding the use of National Guard and militarized federal law enforcement personnel in cities including Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago. At any point in our history this would be met with deep suspicion. Such scrutiny formerly came from libertarian-leaning conservatives. They should rekindle that attitude today.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth and the President Donald Trump minced no words in messaging to top United States military officers: they intend to escalate National Guard deployments and even use active-duty troops against domestic targets.
The premise alone is deceitful: there is no crime surge that needs to be reigned in (in fact, crime rates are down) and even if there were, military force is not the instrument to address it. Neither is there a widespread “leftist invasion from within.” Our cities are thriving, not burning war zones.
More accurately, using the National Guard on U.S. soil against U.S. citizens is probably against the law, and using active duty forces almost certainly so. While I will leave it to legal experts to decide that, it does not take a legal expert to know that military deployments within the US are deeply un-American at its core. Indeed, the founding fathers were wary of standing armies at all, let alone those operating domestically.
These type of deployments are the signature of tyrants. And they will trample exactly the sort of rights that, once ceded, are not easily regained. Chicago today: Milwaukee tomorrow. We must all send a clear message that Milwaukee and Wisconsin will not tolerate any form of military occupation.
Nathan Dunston, Milwaukee
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump is normalizing domestic military deployment. It’s beyond concerning. | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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