‘Send in the troops’: Republican Marsha Blackburn wants the military to crush civil rights protests

On Monday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) demanded on Twitter that the government "send in the troops" if the "big city mayors can't restore order."

Blackburn's comment comes hours after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) suggested invoking the Insurrection Act to send the military into U.S. cities, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) called for hunting down "Antifa" protesters like "those in the Middle East."

Since the 19th century, federal laws have sharply limited the authority of the military to act as domestic law enforcement, as a measure to maintain basic civil liberties.