What is the Insurrection Act?

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the Insurrection Act was enacted in 1792 during the administration of President George Washington and allows the president to deploy the military on U.S. soil and use them against Americans under certain conditions. Specifically, “to suppress rebellion or domestic law or to enforce the law in certain situations.”

What does the Insurrection Act state?

According to the Department of Defense and the House of Representatives, the policy governing the Insurrection Act is found in Title 10 - Armed Forces, Subtitle A – General Military Law, Part I – Organization and General Military Powers, Chapter 13-Insurrection and is as follows:

Section 251 (formerly 331) of the U.S. Code, which is for the federal support of states, reads, “Whenever there is an insurrection in any State against its government, the President may, upon the request of its legislature or of its governor if the legislature cannot be convened, call into Federal service such of the militia of the other States, in the number requested by that State, and use such of the armed forces, as he considers necessary to suppress the insurrection.”

The next section, Section 252 (formerly 332), covers the use of the military to enforce federal authority. It says, “Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, he may call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, and use such of the armed forces, as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion.”

Section 253 (formerly 333) deals with interference with state and federal laws. It reads:

“The President, by using the militia or the armed forces, or both, or by any other means, shall take such measures as he considers necessary to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy, if it —

“(1) so hinders the execution of the laws of that State, and of the United States within the State, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or

“(2) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.

“In any situation covered by clause (1), the State shall be considered to have denied the equal protection of the laws secured by the Constitution.”

All a president needs to do to invoke the Insurrection Act, according to Section 254 (formerly 334), is issue a proclamation to order people to disperse and return home by a deadline. The section reads: “Whenever the President considers it necessary to use the militia or the armed forces under this chapter, he shall, by proclamation, immediately order the insurgents or those obstructing the enforcement of the laws to disperse and retire peaceably to their abodes within a limited time.”

Under normal circumstances, the U.S. military is prohibited from taking part in law enforcement activities on American soil, under the Posse Comitatus Act, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. The Insurrection Act is an exception to Posse Comitatus, but only temporarily.

The Posse Comitatus Act was passed after Reconstruction in 1878 and it was established to prevent the military from being used during Jim Crow in the former Confederacy, the Brennan Center said.

The Act is simple. It is one sentence long and reads: “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, or the Space Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both,” according to Cornell Law School.

No one has been prosecuted criminally under the Posse Comitatus Act, Brookings said.

In most cases, it covers federal military, not the National Guard, since they report to the state’s governor, unless they are federalized, or called into service by the federal government, Brennan Center for Justice explained.

It is also important to note that the military can be used in other situations under the Stafford Act, for example, during natural disasters, public health crises, without waiving the Posse Comitatus Act, the Brennan Center for Justice said.

Back to the Insurrection Act, Brennan Center for Justice said that originally it was “limited …by the Constitution and by tradition,” under Department of Justice rules, but in 1964, the Deputy Attorney General wrote in a memorandum that it could only be invoked in three cases:

When a state requests help in stopping an insurrection
When the military is needed to enforce a federal court order
When “state and local law enforcement have completely broken down.”

The Brennan Center for Justice explained that the act will allow troops to be used to enforce federal law or select state laws, such as civil rights protections, but not for street crime. Also, troops cannot violate the Constitution, including searching a home without a warrant, the organization said.

When has it been used?

It has only been used about 30 times in U.S history.

Washington and John Adams used it to end early rebellions.

Abraham Lincoln used it at the start of the Civil War

Ulysses S. Grant used it to end the first influx of the Ku Klux Klan

Andrew Jackson, Rutherford B. Hayes and Grover Cleveland used it in labor disputes, typically aiding employers.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson used it during the civil rights movement to enforce court orders.

Johnson and George H.W. Bush used it to curtail civil unrest. The final use by Bush was during the 1992 Los Angeles riots and was in response to a request by then-California Gov. Pete Wilson.

What is the Insurrection Act of 2025?

The Senate had introduced the Insurrection Act of 2025 in June, sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and has been read and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

The proposed law would make the deployment of the military “a last resort and should be ordered only if State and local authorities in the State concerned are unable or otherwise fail to suppress the insurrection or rebellion, quell the domestic violence, or enforce the laws that are being obstructed, and Federal civilian law enforcement authorities are unable to do so.”

It states the president can only use the act if:

“There is an insurrection or rebellion in a State” that would overwhelm state or local authorities or if the “chief executive of the State” requests it.

“There is domestic violence in a State that is sufficiently widespread or severe as to overwhelm State or local authorities, and the chief executive of the State, or super majority of the State legislature, requests assistance under this chapter;”

Or when there is:

“Obstruction of the execution of State or Federal law that has the effect of depriving any party or class of the people of that State of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and State or local authorities or Federal civilian law enforcement personnel are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection;

“Obstruction of the execution of Federal law by private actors where such obstruction creates an immediate threat to public safety and the use of State or local authorities and Federal civilian law enforcement personnel is insufficient to ensure execution of the law,” that would overwhelm local or state officials or when “State or local authorities and Federal civilian law enforcement personnel otherwise fail to address the obstruction;”

If the bill were to advance and eventually become law, the president would be allowed to “order to active duty any reserve component forces and use the armed forces to suppress the insurrection or rebellion, quell the domestic violence, or enforce the laws that are being obstructed.”

Military members would still have to abide by the Standing Rules for the Use of Force and does not allow for the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus or anything that would violate federal or state law.

The president would have to consult with Congress if able, before exercising the Insurrection Act, with the act only effective for seven days after the declaration unless certain circumstances were met.

The Insurrection Act of 2025 was only a proposal and was not voted on or made into law. An identical bill was introduced in the House last year by Rep. Christopher Deluzio (D-PA-17) and was referred to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Rules.