What is the Insurrection Act and will Donald Trump invoke in response to the protests in LA?

The Insurrection Act is one of those dusty old statutes that lurks in the U.S. legal code, rarely touched, usually ignored, and only dragged out when a president is considering something drastic. Donald Trump hasn’t pulled that trigger yet in response to the protests sweeping Los Angeles, but his recent actions suggest he might be thinking about it.

Trump has already sent 700 active-duty Marines and federalized National Guard troops into California, citing Title 10, Section 12406 of the U.S. Code. That law allows the president to call the Guard into federal service in case of an invasion or rebellion – or if regular forces can’t enforce U.S. laws. Trump claimed the large-scale demonstrations against immigration raids in L.A. could qualify as a “form of rebellion.”

That’s not how California sees it.

How California is responding to Trump’s actions

Governor Gavin Newsom has sued the federal government, arguing Trump’s use of Title 10 violates the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment and misinterprets federal law. His lawsuit says there is no rebellion, no invasion, and no evidence that federal law enforcement is unable to operate without troops. California also points out that Trump skipped a required step: notifying the governor. Section 12406 says orders should run “through the governors.” Trump didn’t.

The lawsuit aims to block the deployment entirely, calling it unconstitutional. And legal experts, both liberal and conservative, tend to agree that the protests in question don’t meet the legal standard for federal intervention, especially without the governor’s consent.

Could Trump invoke the Insurrection Act?

The Insurrection Act of 1792 is Trump’s nuclear option. If invoked, it would let him bypass the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act and allow the military – including Marines and National Guard units – to engage directly in policing, arrests, and crowd control on U.S. soil.

This has happened before, but rarely. George H.W. Bush last used the Insurrection Act in 1992 when California’s governor requested (that’s a key word here) help during the Rodney King riots. More controversially, President Lyndon Johnson used it unilaterally in 1965 to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama.

Trump hasn’t invoked it yet, but his senior aides, including Vice President JD Vance and Stephen Miller, have already used the word “insurrection” in public. That kind of language is often the first step in laying the groundwork for deploying troops in this way.

If he does go ahead, it would likely spark the biggest legal showdown yet over presidential authority in the protests. Courts have historically given presidents leeway in interpreting the law during perceived crises, but legal scholars say calling immigration protests a “rebellion” is a stretch.

Meanwhile, the Marines remain under tight restrictions. Even with Trump’s authority as commander-in-chief, they can’t legally conduct arrests or seizures unless the Insurrection Act is invoked. For now, the Pentagon insists their role is limited to protecting federal agents and property.

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