Insurrection: “A rising or rebellion of citizens against their government, usually manifested by acts of violence.” — Legal definition.

Under federal law, it is a crime to incite, assist or engage in such conduct against the United States. Federal law empowers the federal government to “to address an insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination or conspiracy, in any state, which results in the deprivation of Constitutionally-secured rights, and where the state is unable, fails, or refuses to protect said rights (§ 253).”

There is no question that what is happening now across America is insurrection. There are too many instances of domestic violence and possible conspiracy to list here. All the rhetoric about “peaceful protest” and justifiable protest has nothing to do with it, other than triggering the violence.

The violence has violated the civil, human, natural, property and other rights of thousands of Americans. And too many politicians, mainly from the left and some from the right, are standing by while this grave injustice is committed against Americans.

The most absurd and insulting explanation is that states alone are responsible for “securing the domestic tranquilly,” although those words are found in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution as one of the grave responsibilities of the federal government.

If the states do not act, fail to act or refuse to act, the power to get involved rests with the federal government, and with the chief executive in particular. And too many governors are allowing this outrage to continue, even though citizens of their own states are victims.

From early on, the federal government has put down insurrections. The first president, George Washington, led the troops against the Whiskey Rebellion. The Insurrection Act has been exercised 18 times by 11 presidents. The wisdom of each use of the act can be debated, but among them were some very good reasons:

• Ulysses S. Grant in 1871 to suppress the Ku Klux Klan. (The same guy whose statue was toppled for some reason.)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt to confront the 1943 Detroit race riots.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower to protect the nine black students who were integrating Little Rock High School in the face of the governor’s opposition.
• John F. Kennedy, three times in 1962 and 1963 to enforce desegregation orders.
• Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 to end the Chicago race riots.
• George H.W. Bush to suppress race riots.

I don’t claim to know how the deployment of federal troops will end. Violently? But it has reached the point that if government authorities continue to deprive their citizens of equal protection of the law and their other rights, there is no choice. It’s obvious that reason does not work with these punks and punkesses.

The people call for redress and justice.

dennis@dennisbyrne.net