The last time the Insurrection Act was used was during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Trump threatened to use the Act to restore order in June 2020 during a US-wide wave of protests against police brutality and racism, some of which ended in riots. No major news outlet reported the signing of the Insurrection Act or any other forms of martial law.

The White House’s media page shows no press releases suggesting this, and neither does the Department of Defense. The idea that president Trump invoked the Insurrection Act is not backed by any source. However, as a report for Congress shows, for the president to use armed forces under the Insurrection Act, he must first issue a proclamation ordering the insurgents to disperse within a limited time, which did not occur. National Guardsmen were deployed at the offer of State governors to assist DC authorities, not at the request of the president. The Insurrection Act of 1807, in contrast, allows the president “to call forth the military during an insurrection or civil disturbance.” Screenshot of the Insurrection Act of 1807 To support police, National Guard soldiers from six states and the District of Columbia were sent as reinforcements after the attack.Īll 6,200 troops will stay beyond the January 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden for a 30-day minimum decreed by a Title 32 order, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said during a press conference on January 7.Ī Title 32 order allows the deployment of the National Guard, while keeping it under the control of the state. Hundreds of of Trump supporters entered the Senate and House complex by force while Congress members were gathered to certify Joe Biden as president-elect. Team Trump’s Parler profile handle is simply which suggests the Insurrection Act announcement came from an impostor account.Īmazon said it suspended Parler for allowing “threats of violence.” Its popularity had recently soared due to Twitter’s ban of Trump following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Parler was forced offline around 2:59 am, Washington, DC time, January 11, after Amazon cut off access to the servers which hosted the platform.Īn archived version of the post shows the claim came from the Parler account which does not feature an authenticity medallion. The only piece of evidence for them is the purported Team Trump statement on alternative social media platform Parler.

Others referred to the Insurrection Act as martial law. Several posts further claim retired US army general Michael Flynn, pardoned by Trump for lying to the FBI over Russian contacts, would be named vice president in coming days. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on January 11, 2021ĭozens of YouTube videos, tweets, Facebook posts, and online articles have also claimed that the president invoked the Act allowing deployment of the army to restore order in case of insurrection and granting it arrest powers, among other things.

Insurrection act martial law