"No - sorry. Posse Comitatus has nothing to do with the old time Sheriff's posse..."
Many of us have heard the term Posse Comitatus. It is a very important construct in today's environment. The term is ancient (in terms of the age of our country). It goes back to Reconstruction days following the Civil War. In order for some Southern states to agree to governance by Union once again, they wanted occupying Union soldiers removed. In 1878, President Hayes agreed, and signed into law the Posse Comitatus Act. This act specifically limited the use of military personal for domestic purposes.
That all sounds great! So good, why in the world do we still need the Second Amendment? After all, the military will never be a threat to the civilian population. Well hold the phone. Even though we have had this law in effect now for over a century now, there are loopholes.
In 1957, President Eisenhower used a clause from the Enforcement Acts to send federal troops into Little Rock, Arkansas to help keep the peace during the school desegregation riots. The Enforcement Acts? What the heck is that?
The Enforcement Acts were enacted around the same timeframe of the Posse Comitatus Act. They were meant to put some teeth into anti-discrimination and other legal protections for former slaves. The Enforcement Acts gave President Eisenhower the legal protection he needed to send troops into Little Rock.
However, there is still another loophole to Posse Comitatus which is much more sinister than the Enforcement Acts. It is the Insurrection Act of 1807. Specifically, the Insurrection Act allows the President the powers to send federal troops into "trouble areas" the states cannot handle. Specifically, lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion. Tell me that is not a hole one could drive a truck through.
President Bush tried to expand the reach of the Insurrection Act after the terrorist attacks in 2006. However, in 2008 those changes were repealed and the Insurrection Act was restored as it was.
So where are we today with Posse Comitatus? In the land of confusion. As much as the Framers tried to limit the power of the federal government, the genie always seems to find a way out of the bottle. With Jade Helm 2015 going on as this is written, danger always lurks within the very documents meant to protect us. As citizens, we always need to stay vigilant, stay aware, and stay prepared.
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