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Is it Time to Invoke the Insurrection Act?
October 11, 2025
By Scott S. Powell
We should never allow the complexity of America’s contemporary problems to confuse, discourage, or overwhelm us. Correcting our present course and charting our way forward is best achieved by aligning our approach and policies with timeless wisdom and principles understood and codified by the Founding Fathers. It turns out that the Constitution provides the framework, specifically Article II, Section 2, and the Supremacy Clause of Article 6, to put down the current city and state rebellions in California, Oregon, Illinois, and some 12 other states claiming “sanctuary” status.
Another powerful source of wisdom and insight into our contemporary problems is George Washington’s Farewell Address of 1797. Here we find Washington uniquely prescient in five critical areas that are now the bane of our contemporary problems:
The likelihood that the people would fail to be adequately informed and educated to discern the truth and fulfill the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.
The rise of political parties and hyperpartisan factionalism that would lead to "cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men" manipulating public opinion, fostering discord, and prioritizing party loyalty over the common good.
The erosion of checks and balances through the usurpation of power by one of the three branches of government, notably the judicial branch
Foreign entanglements that provide avenues for domestic factions to become aligned with foreign powers
The decline of morality and religion, notably Christianity, deemed essential to maintaining civility, public virtue, individual freedom, and the free governance of a constitutional republic.
Washington cautioned that excessive partisanship could lead to political parties or groups with diametrically opposed interests -- prioritizing their own agendas over the common good, which would also lead to division and animosity among citizens. He specifically warned that factions could make the nation vulnerable to foreign manipulation, as external powers might exploit internal divisions to influence U.S. policy. Washington emphasized the importance of national border integrity through his focus on national unity, sovereignty, and the rule of law.
Washington’s assertion 230 years ago that "The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension... is itself a frightful despotism" describes the reality that now exists in 2025. We have unreconcilable hostility between political parties, and “judicial despotism,” which is now undermining President Trump’s popular mandate to deport illegal aliens. We are witnessing persecution of Christians and Jews, brought into full relief in the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk -- a uniquely likeable and capable young national Christian leader.
The chaos and lawlessness that resulted from four years of an open border policy are on display in the daily news. It is time that people recognize that the open border policy of the prior administration was an act of seditious conspiracy that requires correction. Consider the three most plausible reasons why the United States was flooded with some 15-20 million illegal aliens: 1) To change the voting demographics with the objective to increase likely Democrat voters; 2) To advance a Cloward-Piven strategy of bankrupting the United States by radically increasing costs for social welfare spending born by the federal government; and 3) To enlarge the “fifth columns” within the U.S. from foreign entrants, including members of Hezb’allah, Tren de Aragua, MS-13, Barrio 18, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the red-green alliance of communists and radical Islamists within the country, to be positioned to engage in a range of active measures against the United States -- from militant attacks on law enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE, the DEA and DHS to more destructive terrorist attacks.
Dealing with all the possible scenarios that America faces requires circumspection and measured responses. But dramatically stepped-up actions are needed that include shutting down funding sources of the insurrectionists and increased arrests of those planning or being engaged in life-threatening and destructive behavior. America is now in the early stages of civil war, albeit concentrated more in urban areas than rural areas.
The U.S. Constitution and federal statutes provide the government, particularly the Executive branch, with specific authority to address insurrections, rebellions, or domestic violence that threaten public order and national security. These powers are designed for extreme circumstances and are subject to legal and constitutional limits, including the Posse Comitatus Act, Insurrection Act, suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and deployment of the National Guard or federal forces. These are often invoked during "wartime" scenarios broadly interpreted to include civil unrest or rebellion, which may or may not involve international conflict. The most extreme measure, the declaration of martial law, is not explicitly authorized in the Constitution and is a last resort because it involves the suspension of civilian government.
President Trump has already mobilized the National Guard to suppress insurrection in select states and cities, which is justified under the Constitution and federal statutes such as Title 10. His next move should be to invoke the Insurrection Act, with severe penalties for attacks on federal law enforcement officers, such as ICE. Federalization of the Insurrection Act also allows for scaling up by integration with regular armed forces, by passing Posse Comitatus restrictions for law enforcement.
The Constitution's Article IV, Section 4, obligates the federal government to protect states from invasion and domestic violence. As Commander-in-Chief, under Article II, Section 2, the President has broad authority over federal forces in dealing with renegade states and cities. There is no substitute for executive power in dealing with threats to national security.
The majority of Americans are behind President Trump. The purpose of invoking the Insurrection Act is to restore law and order and protect American citizens from widening conflict. Properly executed, the Insurrection Act can bring a quicker end to hostilities and reduce property destruction, injury, and loss of life from what can ensue from lesser measures.
Scott S. Powell is senior fellow at Discovery Institute and a member of the Committee on the Present Danger-China. His timeless book, Rediscovering America, has been Amazon New Release in the history genre for eight weeks. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637581599. Reach him at scottp@discovery.org
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From American Thinker
Link:
https://www.americanthinker.com/arti...ction_act.html
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