22Apr
Washington, DC – Today, President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act amid protests in Minneapolis following the death of Renee Good and ICE’s continued occupation in the community, despite lawmakers asking for their removal.
Common Defense Executive Director and U.S. Army veteran Jose Vasquez released the following statement:
“This is a dark day for our nation: the U.S. military is being threatened with deployment to patrol and police fellow Americans, for no reason other than to further inflame a crisis of the president’s own making. The Insurrection Act was written for extraordinary breakdowns of civil order, not for moments when a president wants to overpower local leaders, shield federal agencies from accountability, or escalate tensions to satisfy personal grievances against his political opponents.
“As veterans we were trained to use restraint, to protect civilian life, and to follow the Constitution. Turning the military inward to quell dissent sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the very freedoms we swore an oath to defend.
“What Minnesota needs right now is de-escalation, transparency, and respect for civil liberties. Common Defense vehemently condemns this escalation. Veterans across the country recognize the dangerous politicization of the military when leaders threaten to use it for domestic political ends. We won’t stand by as our fellow Americans are attacked on the streets.”
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is the nation’s largest grassroots organization of veterans and military families. Founded in 2016, we organize to defend the Constitution, oppose Forever Wars, and fight for a democracy where liberty and justice truly exist for all.