Here’s what the Marines and the National Guard can (and cannot) do the protests of Los Angeles

Having said that, there are numerous scenarios in which the military can provide assistance to the police, even giving them “information” obtained “during the normal course” of their duties, unless the applicable privacy laws do not project it. Military members can also provide the police with a wide variety of assistance as long as it is a “private capacity” and are out of service. In addition, they can provide “expert advice”, provided that it does not count as a core of function to civil police work.

The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a comment request; However, a member of the staff of the Undersecretary of Defense Office for the confirmed policy for wiring by phone the current set of policies according to which the federal troops deployed must operate.

There is a big warning for army restrictions. During an “extraordinary emergency”, military commanders can undertake a limited and immediate action to prevent massive destruction or to restore critical public services, but only as long as the presidential approval is “impossible” to be obtained in advance. And while military personnel should of course maintain order and discipline at any time, in no case, are they required to reject themselves when their lives, or the lives of others, are in immediate danger.

However, the application of these rules on the field is far from guaranteed. Legal experts warn him Adhesion often varies in chaotic environments. Trump administration officials have also shown the will to get around the law. Last week, the national security secretary Kristi Noem asked the Pentagon to authorize military assistance in conducting arrests and distributing the surveillance of drones, according to a letter Obtained from San Francisco Chronicle—A Move Experts states that directly contradicts the standing legal prohibitions.

Thursday during a press conference, Noem said that the federal government was on a mission to “free” Los Angeles from the “socialists” and the “leadership” of the governor of California Gavin Newsom and the mayor of La Karen Bass. The United States Senator Alex Padilla, who represents the citizens of California, was forcibly removed From the press conference after trying to question Noem. Outside the press conference room, the federal agents forced the senator to the ground, where he was temporarily put in handcuffs.

Unlike the National Guard, which is well trained for the control of the domestic crowd, the active marines generally receive relatively little education in the management of civil disorders. Those who generally belong to the military police or to the specialized security units. However, the Marine Corps has published online videos that show various forces task forces training with anti -Somamossa control tactics AND “not lethal“Weapons. Constitutional concerns do not arise, however, when the Marines face themselves against foreign mobs, such as in civil areas During the war in Afghanistan or in rare demonstrators violate the perimeter of an American embassy. And the rules of commitment in war are much more indulgent than Strength rules with which the Marines must join nationally.

In a declaration on Wednesday, the northern command of the United States, which supervises military support to the non-military authorities in the 48 contiguous states, confirmed that the Marines had undergone training in all the “essential tasks of the mission”, including “De-Escalation” and “control of the crowd”. They will do it According to reports be accompanied by legal experts and application of the law.

Constitutional experts warn that taking military forces against civil demonstrators abandon the border between the police and military power, potentially establishing a precedent dangerous for the uncontrolled presidential authority. The risk deepens, they say, if the federal troops exceed their legal limits.

If the lines are crossed, it could open a door that may not close easily, clarify the way for future repressions that error the civil freedoms conquered by the Americans.