Internal documents obtained by The Washington Post and reported on Tuesday reveal a secret Pentagon plan by the Trump administration to create a standing force of military personnel that could be rapidly deployed to U.S. cities or communities to quell public protests or any situation President Donald Trump deems "domestic civil unrest."
The proposal to create what it dubs a "Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force"—which evidence shows has been under serious consideration by the administration over recent months—would utilize existing statute, including invocation of Title 32, to authorize the deployment of specialized National Guard units anywhere in the country within hours, according to the documents.According to the Post:
The plan calls for 600 troops to be on standby at all times so they can deploy in as little as one hour, the documents say. They would be split into two groups of 300 and stationed at military bases in Alabama and Arizona, with purview of regions east and west of the Mississippi River, respectively.
"This isn't normal!!!" declared one social media user, a U.S. Navy veteran, in response to the reporting.
The leaked documents detailing the plan, which the Post noted "represents another potential expansion of [Trump’s] willingness to employ the armed forces on American soil," comes just a day after the president sparked serious concerns (and local protests) by deploying National Guard troops in the city of Washington, D.C. and announcing a federal takeover of the D.C. police force.
Civil liberties advocates and critics of Trump's growing authoritarianism warn the president is raising "a trial balloon" to see just how much he can get away with when it comes to deploying U.S. soldiers onto the nation's streets.
Coupled with the D.C. takeover, Tuesday's revelations about the Pentagon's more expansive plan served to increase those fears, especially in the light of looming political battles regarding gerrymandered districts for next year's congressional elections and growing disgust with the broader Trump policy agenda.
"If people aren't allowed to peacefully protest and the elections are being rigged through gerrymandering and voter suppression, how are Americans supposed to respond when they figure out their lives are being actively destroyed by a corrupt, fascist government?" asked Wisconsin state Rep. Chris Larson, a Democrat.
"The U.S. military should never be used against peaceful civilians," said Larson. "The criminal president who thinks it's cool can f--k all the way off."
Joseph Nunn, an attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice specializing in the domestic use of the U.S. military, told the Post that the lawfulness of the proposal is far from clear and that the creation of such a force would be deeply troubling.
"You don't want to normalize routine military participation in law enforcement," Nunn warned. "You don't want to normalize routine domestic deployment."
"When you have this tool waiting at your fingertips, you're going to want to use it,” he added. "It actually makes it more likely that you're going to see domestic deployments—because why else have a task force?"