So if Trump declares martial law, what do we do?

[Cyrano]

The madman in the White House seems free to do just about anything he wants to do on the spur of the moment.

What if he decides to declare martial law? That means the military is in charge of America and must follow his orders.

What's to stop him from doing this?

Who can stop him from doing this?

And if he does so, what do we do?

Any lawyers out there with answers?

[lagomorph777]

1. Persuade the gun nuts that Martial Law means "They're coming for your guns."

They will provide a 2nd Amendment solution.

[Irish_Dem]

3. The gun nuts would help enforce martial law. Self important strutting around.

Rules are for other people with this group.

[unblock]

4. sounds good in theory, but in practice they'll be drooling at the thought of open season on libruls.

[TheBlackAdder]

42. Yeah, but they like to advertise who they are and what guns they have, while Dems stay silent.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

53. with Martial Law they'll be facing the Guard or Military

most likely, won't they?

[TomJulie]

58. I Would Hope So...

But, I wouldn't bet the house on it. Most military personnel are rethugs. Although, if given orders to fire upon the gun toters, many would follow orders...I hope.

I for one hope it never comes to that because no one wins.

[MineralMan]

2. Seems unlikely to me.

For years, this possibility has been brought up primarily by right-wingers, and they've brought it up again and again.

I don't see it as a real threat anytime soon.

[unblock]

7. absent a triggering event, i agree.

the question is how would donnie and his gang of incompetent thugs respond to a 9/11-type event?

i actually don't think martial law, specifically, would happen at that point, but i nevertheless shudder to think of what their version of the patriot act would be, or what other steps they might take.

[atreides1]

17. Really?

Do you actually think he believes he needs a reason? We already know that Congress and the SCOTUS wouldn't stand in his way, and the military being to good little automatons that they are would follow their orders without question!

What is there to stop him from declaring martial law???

[unblock]

20. i don't think even foxnews would go for martial law in the absence of some kind of major event.

i wouldn't rule out a false flag reichstag fire, though....

[DBoon]

45. their definition of a triggering event is a democratic landslide

What they consider a threat isn't what we consider a threat

[peggysue2]

31. Agree

This is fear-mongering at its finest. And yes, a meme frequently pushed by right-wingers. Squint your eyes and you can see Bannon chuckling in the background.

[leftofcool]

5. I'm not worried about it.

[HopeAgain]

6. I think is catastrophizing a bit,

but if it were to happen, we all go out into the streets. Every one of us, and we shut down everything.

[WinkyDink]

8. Chill.

[democratisphere]

9. Coup d'etat would ensue, and drumpf would be removed from office.

The people will not allow authoritarian rule by this wannabe despot.

[Cyrano]

21. Coup d'etat??? Surely you jest

It might have happened back in the 1960s. But today?

Fox "news" and the entire wingnut media will praise him.

MSNBC and CNN will assemble panels to discuss it.

His base of crazies will stand behind him 100%.

The Republicans in congress will dither, schedule hearings and end up in a circle jerk.

Exactly who is going to perform this coup d'etat? And exactly how will they go about doing it?

And the soldiers in the streets will open fire if ordered to. (Kent State)

[PJMcK]

10. There's a flaw in your premise

If Trump were to impose martial law in the U.S., he'd be turning control of the country over to the military. Do you think Trump would do that?

Remarkably, there are checks and balances to prevent a coup d'etat. From Wikipedia:

In United States law, martial law is limited by several court decisions that were handed down between the American Civil War and World War II. In 1878, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids military involvement in domestic law enforcement without congressional approval.

Trump could suspend habeas corpus in the event of an attack or natural disaster but he probably doesn't even know what that is.

I think the biggest danger we face is Trump starting a war with North Korea or Iran. Either one would be a catastrophic disaster.

[rzemanfl]

18. Drumpf thinks habeas corpus is permission to grab 'em. n/t

[PJMcK]

22. That's really funny! (n/t)

[rzemanfl]

35. It would be if he was still doing reality TV, in the White House, not so much. n/t

[sarisataka]

11. I would

Roll my eyes and go back to sleep

[workinclasszero]

12. Trump is the lowest polling president in history

I would hope that the military would quickly restore civilian control of the government after arresting Twitler and depositing his ass in Leavenworth prison.

[ChicagoRonin]

13. It will fail

Looking at everything Trump has tried to do, I think even if he passes martial law, he and his followers will find it is actually harder to accomplish than he thinks (Like the travel ban, for example).

Curfews, checkpoints, etc. will run into the fact that any impeding of movement in the U.S. will gradually (or rapidly) hurt the economy. Overseas tourist (and may even business) travel will grind to a halt.

Plus, Americans (and Republicans especially) hate to be told what to do by the government. There will be some giddy support initially when they assume only the "bad" people will be affected ((Like their view of actions against undocumented immigrants), but in the end they want to go where they want to go, do what they want to do, and not have a police state looking over their shoulder.

[UTUSN]

14. Nukes rank higher than martial law on the list to worry about.

[workinclasszero]

16. I agree.

Nuclear war with NK and/or Iran is a much more realistic threat.

[ileus]

15. for what reason? The fun of it?

Maybe reflect on this the next time you declare only the Military and Police should have firearms.

[TreasonousBastard]

19. Not so easy to do...

https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Martial+Law

In theory, Trump may be able to declare it but Congress and the courts can weigh in.

[samnsara]

23. we will just ignore him like we always do

[PJMcK]

24. Another thought

Trump can't do anything right. He fails at even the most simple activities. For example, how do you go bankrupt running a casino? It's a business where people open their wallets and give you their money. Yet Trump was able to have three casinos crash and burn. He's total loser.

He doesn't know how to run a business let alone our country. In many ways, he's his own worst enemy.

He simply couldn't pull it off. He's an idiot.

ETA: If I'm wrong, we'll all end up in the camps!

[Cyrano]

26. Who will stop him?

The Republicans in congress?

The Supreme Court?

The Great Pumpkin?

Who will stop him?

[treestar]

47. I think Republicans

In Congress would. Because that would threaten their power.

[snort]

46. I think they crashed and burned because they weren't casinos,

they were money laundering operations.

[PJMcK]

54. Yeah

They were also heavily leveraged with unsustainable debt.

More proof, if any were needed, that Trump is a lousy businessman.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

25. Why on earth would he do that?

[Cyrano]

27. In order to gain full control

Don't you yet understand that he wants to be "The Beloved Leader."?

He envy's Kim Ill Un. He wants to be obeyed and idolized.

The man is bugshit insane. And he will do whatever is necessary to fulfill his fantasies.

[Eliot Rosewater]

28. He is more likely to bomb Iran or NK the instant it is clear Mueller or Schneiderman

has the goods on his traitorous thieving punk ass.

Problem is we do NOT deserve good things because WE as in half of this country or more is going to do again with Steele dossier what we did with W CBS Dan Rather intel, ignore it because of the source.

We really are too dumb to have nice things, many of us.

[Not Ruth]

29. Anyone can declare martial law

Congress needs to weigh in.....

In the United States, martial law has been used in a limited number of circumstances, such as directly after a foreign attack, such as Hawaii after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or New Orleans during the Battle of New Orleans, after major disasters, such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 or the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, by renegade local leaders seeking to avoid arrest, such as Nauvoo, Illinois during the Illinois Mormon War, or Utah during the Utah War, or in response to chaos associated with protests and mob action, such as the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike, or mob actions against the Freedom Riders.

The martial law concept in the United States is closely tied with the right of habeas corpus, which is in essence the right to a hearing on lawful imprisonment, or more broadly, the supervision of law enforcement by the judiciary. The ability to suspend habeas corpus is related to the imposition of martial law. Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution states, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." There have been many instances of the use of the military within the borders of the United States, such as during the Whiskey Rebellion and in the South during the Civil Rights Movement, but these acts are not tantamount to a declaration of martial law. The distinction must be made as clear as that between martial law and military justice: deployment of troops does not necessarily mean that the civil courts cannot function, and that is one of the keys, as the Supreme Court noted, to martial law.

In United States law, martial law is limited by several court decisions that were handed down between the American Civil War and World War II. In 1878, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids military involvement in domestic law enforcement without congressional approval.

[Cyrano]

30. He's broken all the "rules." None of this will stop him.

The Supreme Court? Let me answer that. "Chuckle."

[Sneederbunk]

32. A few good men and women will stop him. Will we be among them?

[Cyrano]

34. Those "good few" will have to be in charge of the military

[Hoyt]

33. He's disgusting and crazy as a loon, but that ain't gonna happen.

[Cyrano]

36. Yep. I also remember that he couldn't win the presidency

"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." (H.L. Mencken)

[Hoyt]

44. You have a point, but I'm not going to arm up, stock up on food, dig a bunker or anything, or

lose any sleep worrying about this. I have enough worry over deportation; cuts to education, d healthcare, food stamps, Social Security; stupid tax cuts to wealthy; cancellation Paris Accord, TPP, NAFTA, etc.; racists, Nazi, militia groups; warmongering; Russia; and a maybe even worse. We don't need to dream up stuff -- especially the same stuff GOPers said about Obama -- with all that going on.

Actually, there was always the chance white wing Trump supporters would vote where it mattered, and they did.

[TheDebbieDee]

37. A couple of (staged) terror attacks late next

next summer may give Trump a reason to declare martial law - will this affect mid-term elections? I'm betting it will!

[Golden Raisin]

39. Or war, preemptive or otherwise, with N. Korea,

Iran, or fill-in-the-blank. There would be a huge 9/11-esque "Rally around the flag/troops" response, with Fox and Republicans beating the patriotic drums.

[Cyrano]

38. Let me add to my OP that these are not normal times. Nor is Trump

I truly believe that there is literally no way to stop this madman other than outright revolt.

And I believe that this will not happen because Americans are no longer capable of revolt.

Agree or disagree, who has most of the guns? -- The Trump nuts.

Who will go out and risk death in order to oppose tyranny? -- I don't know.

How many Americans will give up their TVs, their tweeting, their Facebook entries, their credit cards, their houses, their cars, and ultimately, their lives, to go out and fight this monster when he controls all of America's military, weaponry, and every other form of power? -- I don't know.

How about you? Will you do it?

[sarisataka]

40. Are you saying

You are willing to fight or that the war is already lost?

[treestar]

48. Would they still have those things

Under martial law? And freedom to tweet whatever they want ?

[mythology]

41. Buy a bunch of rock salt to help melt hell?

These sky is falling posts are just silly. You should have the same level of concern as a Martian invasion.

Trump does or tries to do enough crappy things that are real to be concerned about.

Also it's kind of hard to say Trump can do whatever he wants when his biggest policy success so far was barely getting the House to pass the umpteenth ACA repeal that couldn't pass the Senate. Objectively he's been remarkably ineffective.

[Vinca]

43. I don't know about you, but I head to the Canadian border.

[zipplewrath]

49. Not enough people

As large as the US military is, and even presuming he called all the troops home from foreign bases, it isn't nearly large enough to establish any credible "martial law" in the US. With a dozen or more Democratic governors telling him to stick it, not to mention probably one or two GOP ones as well, he'd be in no real position to enforce it. Congress would never agree which would place the military commanders in a position to resist his "orders".

Any order of this character would be focuses upon a minority, and a small one at that. It is far more likely he'd do some "round up" of a group such as the dreamers, or anyone that Homeland Security was tracking as a "potential terrorist". Something not all that unlike this was done after 9/11.

[jmowreader]

50. Gear up for a President Pence, I guess

One of the first things they teach you in basic training is, "you have a duty to disobey an illegal order."

Trump declaring martial law absent an extremely good reason - a ground-force invasion of the US mainland comes to mind - would be the mother of all illegal orders. The National Capitol Region is full of generals, any of whom would be happy to take Trump into custody, convene a nice quick kangaroo court, convict him in same, and slap him in a dungeon until he died of natural causes. They would then return control of the US to its civilian leadership.

Also, I find it hard to believe he'd want to do anything that would take time away from his golfing, tweeting and pussygrabbing.

[Throck]

51. Did I miss the memo?

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

52. We disobey!

I'm too old to be scared of him.........

[The_Casual_Observer]

55. It's already here. The generals run everything

there is a propaganda mill in place (fox news), and have you been to a protest lately? Militarized riot police are there to arrest you for even looking at them funny.

The only "freedoms" you really have is at-will employment, buy shit and consume.

[Cyrano]

56. A president can do whatever he wants to do

The Gulf of Tonkin incident was bullshit, but Lyndon Johnson used it to go to all out war with Vietnam.

Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, but Bush Jr used it to invade Iraq.

In both cases, congress did nothing.

If Trump needs a reason to declare marshal law, he'll just make one up. And congress will once again do nothing.

[LanternWaste]

57. Martial Law is not a magical dictatorship switch that the President can throw

The only legal use of martial law recognized by the United States is to restore and maintain peace during civil unrest or invasion, it is not a magical dictatorship switch that the President can throw.

Congress, voting jointly may revoke such proclamation, under Article VII, Section 18. The president must send a report to Congress within 48 hours. It must convene in 24 hours if in recess.

Exploring irrational fantasies is just that.