Martial Law Questions

If Martial law is enacted, who is in charge on the local level? Is it the local or state police or does the national guard come in? I have a lot of respect for these people but do they have the experience to handle this type of situation. The resulting confusion and panic would have the potential to turn to total anarchy. Also who has the authority to call for martial law? Is it only the President or can the Senate authorize this?

In strict dictionary terms, martial law is the suspension of civil authority and the imposition of military authority, so yes that would include the National guard as well as the Army etc.

While doing a search I found this neat little tidbit of info.

The Arming of Federal Bureaucrats

If you have any qualms about the use of military forces within the United States or in the event that necessary U.S. military forces are unavailable or reluctant to participate, you enjoy other resources generally not available to your predecessors. Current estimates are that there are 80,000 armed employees in the Executive Branch -- an increase of 20,000 over 1996!(102)

The power to carry firearms has been granted, by statute, to:

* the Treasury Department's Inspector General for Tax Administration (5 U.S.C. 8D);

* designated employees of the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture (7 U.S.C. 2270);

* designated employees of the Department of Agriculture engaged in animal quarantine activities (7 U.S.C. 2274);

* Immigration and Naturalization Service employees (8 U.S.C. 1357);

* civilian employees of the Department of Defense (10 U.S.C. 1585);

* members of the Park Police (16 U.S.C. 1a-6);

* designated employees of the Forest Service (16 U.S.C. 559c);

* designated employees of the Department of Agriculture or Department of the Interior (16 U.S.C. 670j);

* designated employees of the Tennessee Valley Authority (16 U.S.C. 831c-3);

* designated employees of the Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, or the Department of the Treasury (16 U.S.C. 3375);

* employees of the Bureau of Prisons (18 U.S.C. 3050);

* employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (18 U.S.C. 3052);

* United States marshals (18 U.S.C. 3053);
* Postal inspectors (18 U.S.C. 3061);

* "law enforcement" personnel of the Environmental Protection Agency (18 U.S.C. 3063);

* federal pretrial services officers (18 U.S.C. 3154);

* federal probation officers (18 U.S.C. 3603);

* officers of the United States Customs Service (19 U.S.C. 1589a);

* designated employees of the Department of Health and Human Services (21 U.S.C. 372);

* employees of the Drug Enforcement Agency (21 U.S.C. 878);

* designated special agents of the Department of State (22 U.S.C. 2709);

* law enforcement employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (25 U.S.C. 2803);

* officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (26 U.S.C. 7608);

* the Marshal of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court police (40 U.S.C. 13n);

* designated employees of the General Services Administration (40 U.S.C. 318d);

* employees, contractors, and subcontractors of the Atomic Energy Commission (42 U.S.C. 2201);
* contractors and subcontractors of the United States Enrichment Corporation (42 U.S.C. 2297h-5);

* designated employees, contractors, and subcontractors of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (42 U.S.C. 2456);

* designated employees, contractors, and subcontractors of the Department of Energy (42 U.S.C. 7270a);

* federal law enforcement personnel with responsibilities respecting the public lands (43 U.S.C. 1733);

* personnel with air transportation security responsibilities (49 U.S.C. 44903);

* designated Central Intelligence Agency personnel (50 U.S.C. 403f); and

* designated employees of the Office of Export Enforcement of the Department of Commerce (50 U.S.C. App. 2411).

As highlighted above, several of these statutes not only authorize federal employees to carry firearms, but also extend this authority to federal contractors and subcontractors. This elastic concept could be useful.

Again, however, there has been some effort to publicize this issue by politicians motivated by personal animus. For example, in 1997 Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) observed that:

Under the constitution, there was never meant to be a federal police force. Even an FBI limited only to investigations was not accepted until this century. Yet today, fueled by the federal government's misdirected war on drugs, radical environmentalism, and the aggressive behavior of the nanny state, we have witnessed the massive buildup of a virtual army of armed regulators prowling the States where they have no legal authority. The sacrifice of individual responsibility and the concept of local government by the majority of American citizens has permitted the army of bureaucrats to thrive.(103)

Of course, the loyalty of these dedicated public servants to the policies of your administration should make them a valuable resource, whatever the future may hold.

This is why you can't trust the feds - ever notice how most of them don't even seem like the same species as us? Save that list, so you know who's who when the time comes.


[edit on 16-8-2004 by outsider]

This is an excellent article outlining the plan that is already in place.

Under F.E.M.A., the Executive Orders which are already written and is the current law of the land, calls for the COMPLETE suspension of the United States Constitution, all rights and liberties, as they are currently known. The following executive orders, which are in the Federal Register located in Washington DC for anyone to request copies of, call for the suspension of all civil rights and liberties and for extraordinary measures to be taken in, as most of the orders state, "any national security emergency situation that might confront the government." When F.E.M.A. is implemented, the following executive orders will be immediately enforced:

*Edit: Looks like the site was hacked*
www.posse-comitatus.org...

*Added note on link*

[edit on 27-5-2005 by dbates]

Originally posted by Gools
This is an excellent article outlining the plan that is already in place.

Under F.E.M.A., the Executive Orders which are already written and is the current law of the land, calls for the COMPLETE suspension of the United States Constitution, all rights and liberties, as they are currently known. The following executive orders, which are in the Federal Register located in Washington DC for anyone to request copies of, call for the suspension of all civil rights and liberties and for extraordinary measures to be taken in, as most of the orders state, "any national security emergency situation that might confront the government." When F.E.M.A. is implemented, the following executive orders will be immediately enforced: www.posse-comitatus.org...

- a scary thing indeed.

My question is what do we do in the case of martial law ? Is there anything we can do ? Or is that it they got us by the balls?

Under what criteria can Martial Law be enacted? Does it fall under specific events or is it a judgement call by the President? Who else besides the President has the authority to enact it?

Congress, the President or even a state Govenor.

Examples of Martial Law from this page

Through out United States history are several examples of the imposition of martial law, aside from that during the Civil War.

During the war of 1812, General Andrew Jackson imposed martial law within his encampment at New Orleans, which he had recently liberated. Martial law was also imposed in a four mile radius around the camp. When word came of the end of the war, Jackson maintained martial law, contending that he had not gotten official word of the peace. A judge demanded habeas corpus for a man arrested for sedition. Rather than comply with the writ, Jackson had the judge arrested. After the civil authority was restored, the judge fined Jackson $1000, which he paid, and for which the Congress later reimbursed Jackson.

In 1892, at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, rebellious mine workers blew up a mill and shot at strike-breaking workers. The explosion leveled a four-story building and killed one person. Mine owners asked the governor to declare martial law, which he did. At the same time, a request was made for federal troops to back guardsmen. Over 600 people were arrested. The list was whittled down to two dozen ring leaders who were tried in civil court. While in prison, the mine workers formed a new union, the Western Federation of Miners.

In 1914, imposition of martial law climaxed the so-called Coal Field Wars in Colorado. Dating back decades, the conflicts came to a head in Ludlow in 1913. The Colorado National Guard was called in to quell the strikers. For a time, the peace was kept, but it is reported that the make-up of the Guard stationed at the mines began to shift from impartial normal troops to companies of loyal mine guards. Clashes increased and the proclamation of martial law was made by the governor. President Wilson sent in federal troops, eventually ending the violence.

In 1934, California Governor Frank Merriam placed the docks of San Francisco under martial law, citing "riots and tumult" resulting from a dock worker's strike. The Governor threatened to place the entire city under martial law. The National Guard was called in to open the docks, and a city-wide institution of martial law was averted when goods began to flow. The guardsmen were empowered to make arrests and to then try detainees or turn them over to the civil courts.

Martial law and San Francisco were no strangers - following the earthquake of 1906, the troops stationed in the Presidio were pressed into service. Guards were posted throughout the city, and all dynamite was confiscated. The dynamite was used to destroy buildings in the path of fires, to prevent the fires from spreading. Troops were ordered to shoot looters. Though there was never an official declaration of martial law, the event is often cited as such. However, at all times it appears the troops took their orders indirectly from the civil authority.

Though not a state at the time, Hawaii was placed under martial law in 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Many of the residents of Hawaii were, and are, of Asian descent, and the loyalty of these people was called into question. After the war, the federal judge for the islands condemned the conduct of martial law, saying, "Gov. Poindexter declared lawfully martial law but the Army went beyond the governor and set up that which was lawful only in conquered enemy territory namely, military government which is not bound by the Constitution. And they ... threw the Constitution into the discard and set up a military dictatorship."

There have been many instances of the use of the military within the borders of the United States, such as during the Whiskey Rebellion and in the South during the civil rights crises, but these acts are not tantamount to a declaration of martial law. The distinction must be made as clear as that between martial law and military justice: deployment of troops does not necessarily mean that the civil courts cannot function, and that is one of the keys, as the Supreme Court noted, to martial law.


[edit on 17-8-2004 by outsider]

oops-double vision

[edit on 17-8-2004 by outsider]

Originally posted by Blue Diamond
My question is what do we do in the case of martial law ? Is there anything we can do ? Or is that it they got us by the balls?

Hmmm.... yes they do.

Originally posted by Blue Diamond
My question is what do we do in the case of martial law ? Is there anything we can do ? Or is that it they got us by the balls?

We do nothing. Under martial law, the state controls everything that moves, breathe and sh@t. In the case of martial law, do not speak out against the government or do anything against the government. Police and Army will be given the power to "shoot to kill".