US President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act — a law dating back to 1807 that allows a sitting president to deploy military forces within the United States — to address what he calls “lawlessness” in certain cities.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said he would use the powers “if necessary.”
“I do it if it was necessary. So far, it hasn’t been necessary, but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason,” he said. “If people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure I’d do that. I want to make sure that people aren’t killed. We have to make sure our cities are safe.”
The comments come amid heightened tensions over federal interventions in cities like Chicago and Portland, where protesters have clashed with immigration officers during intensified enforcement operations.
Trump has authorised the deployment of 300 National Guard troops in Chicago, with another 200 troops from Texas expected to arrive on Wednesday. A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the administration from sending Guard forces to Portland, Oregon. However, a similar request for a stay from Chicago’s city government was denied.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, vowed to resist what he called the administration’s “authoritarian march.”
“We will not let the Trump administration continue their authoritarian march without resisting,” he said, promising to use “every lever” available to the state.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also moved to counter the deployment, signing an executive order creating “ICE-free zones” and barring federal agents from using certain city-owned spaces for immigration enforcement.
“We have a rogue, reckless group of heavily armed, masked individuals roaming throughout our city that are not accountable to the people of Chicago,” Johnson said.
This is not the first time Trump has turned to federal deployments. In June, National Guard troops were sent to Los Angeles, followed by Washington, D.C. in August — both moves that drew sharp criticism from state and local officials.
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