It Has ALREADY Happened: Open Warfare on the Streets of Newark - US Troops vs Snipers

reply to post by ColoradoJens


Bumpski and Hutch. Did I mention Hutch? What a stud!

CJ

reply to post by ColoradoJens


This "incident" in 1914 killed women and children in Colorado !

Ludlow Massacre

The Ludlow Massacre was an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914.

The deaths occurred after a day-long fight between strikers and the Guard. [color=limegreen]The massacre resulted in the violent deaths of between 19 and 25 people; sources vary but all sources include two women and eleven children, asphyxiated and burned to death under a single tent.

Ludlow was the deadliest single incident in the southern Colorado Coal Strike, lasting from September 1913 through December 1914. The strike was organized by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) against coal mining companies in Colorado. The three largest companies involved were the Rockefeller family-owned Colorado Fuel & Iron Company (CF&I), the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company (RMF), and the Victor-American Fuel Company (VAF).

They will use force when they want to !

In retaliation for Ludlow, the miners armed themselves and attacked dozens of mines over the next ten days, destroying property and engaging in several skirmishes with the Colorado National Guard along a 40-mile front from Trinidad to Walsenburg. [1] [color=limegreen]The entire strike would cost between 69 and 199 lives, described as the "deadliest strike in the history of the United States".

and here is an ironic twist...

GM Strike 1937

The 1936–1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike changed the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from a collection of isolated locals on the fringes of the industry into a major labor union and led to the unionization of the domestic United States automobile industry.....

That development forced GM to bargain with the union. John L. Lewis, President of the United Mine Workers and founder and leader of the CIO, spoke for the UAW in those negotiations, while the UAW sent its President Homer Martin on a speaking tour to keep him out of the way. GM's representatives refused to be in the same room as the UAW's, so Governor Frank Murphy acted as courier and intermediary between the two groups. [color=limegreen]Governor Murphy sent in the US National Guard, not to evict the strikers, but rather to protect them from the police and corporate strike-breakers. The parties finally reached agreement on February 11, 1937 on a one page agreement that recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for GM's employees who were members of the union for the next six months.

Federal troops were also in the New York City riots in 1863.

NYC riots 1863

On Thursday morning, July 16, the fourth and final day of the riots, a proclamation by Mayor Opdyke appeared in all the newspapers. He urged all citizens to open their stores and factories and return to work; most streetcar, train and omnibus lines resumed operations. [color=limegreen]On Thursday evening, after clashing with rioters who’d been looting fine homes in the neighborhood, Federal troops encamped in the private and previously-sacrosanct Gramercy Park. Armed cadets from West Point arrived in the city to bolster the military presence. By midnight Thursday the Draft Riots were at an end, and the city began to pick up the pieces. Police and military sweeps of the slums in the weeks after the riots collected almost 11,000 firearms, bludgeons and other mob weapons, as well as tens of thousands of dollars worth of stolen property. “Every person in whose possession these articles are found disclaims all knowledge of the same, except to say they found them in the street, and took them in to prevent them being burned,” the Times wryly noted.

interesting article.

reply to post by xuenchen


xuenchen, thank you so much for your posts! Both have excellent information in them. I am a little embarassed but thankfully reminded of the Ludlow riots! Yes, there are indeed many instances of Federal troops giving it to the locals. I think it is important to point out that this is NOT Posse Comitatus. It IS legal for a Governor to call the national guard in times of emergency.

Exclusions and limitations to Posse Comitatus

There are a number of situations in which the Act does not apply. These include:

National Guard units and State Defense Forces while under the authority of the governor of a state;
Troops used under the order of the President of the United States pursuant to the Insurrection Act, as was the case during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 831, the Attorney General may request that the Secretary of Defense provide emergency assistance if civilian law enforcement is inadequate to address certain types of threats involving the release of nuclear materials, such as potential use of a nuclear or radiological weapon. Such assistance may be by any personnel under the authority of the Department of Defense, provided such assistance does not adversely affect U.S. military preparedness.
Support roles under the Joint Special Operations Command
Posse Comitatus

Here is another. The infamous Pullman Strike.

The Pullman Strike of 1894 was the first national strike in United States history. Before coming to an end, it involved over 150,000 persons and twenty-seven states and territories and would paralyze the nations railway system. The entire rail labor force of the nation would walk away from their jobs. In supporting the capital side of this strike President Cleveland for the first time in the Nation's history would send in federal troops, who would fire on and kill United States Citizens, against the wishes of the states. The federal courts of the nation would outlaw striking by the passing of the Omnibus indictment. This blow to unionized labor would not be struck down until the passing of the Wagner act in 1935. This all began in the little town of Pullman, Illinois, just south of Chicago.

www.kansasheritage.org...

On May 11,1894, three thousand Pullman workers went on a "wildcat" strike, that is, without authorization of their union. Many of the strikers belonged to the American Railroad Union (ARU) founded by Eugene V. Debs. Debs, who was from Indiana, had moved to Chicago where he became a railroad fireman. He became aware of the working conditions of his fellow laborers. He saw men working for low wages, some of whom were injured or killed because of unsafe equipment. He was determined to make things better.

On July 2, 1894, Olney obtained an injunction from a federal court saying that the strike was illegal. When the strikers did not return to work the next day, President Cleveland sent federal troops into Chicago. This enraged strikers, and rioters began stopping trains, smashing switches, and, again, setting fire to anything that would burn. On July 7, another mob stopped soldiers escorting a train through the downtown Chicago area. Many people were killed or wounded from bullets.

Pullman Strike

Thanks again and keep them coming! Hope this is waking up a few people, and there are MANY more examples out there - it's appreciated!

Edit to add: I found this interesting:

MARCH 4: MOB STORMS NEW ORLEANS JAIL AND LYNCHES 11 ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS, OF WHOM THREE ARE ITALIAN NATIONALS, AFTER COURTS FREED 3 SICILIANS ACCUSED AND ACQUITTED OF MURDER OF LOCAL SHERIFF.
After federal government refuses to intervene on grounds that crime is a state matter, Italy recalls its ambassador to U. S. and U. S. recalls its ambassador from Italy.
1882: Matter settled when U. S. pays Italy $25,000 indemnity

Then there was the Homestead Strike

JULY 14: FEDERAL TROUPS SENT TO COUER D'ALENE, IDAHO TO ENFORCE MARTIAL LAW DECLARED WHEN STRIKING SILVER MINERS CLASH WITH STRIKEBREAKERS


CJ

reply to post by xuenchen


Regarding "Homeland Security" this made me laugh.

The gist of the problem is demonstrated by the first sentence of the extract below from the 2002 National Strategy for Homeland Security.

Federal Law prohibits military personnel from enforcing the law within the United States except as expressly authorized by the Constitution or an Act of Congress. The threat of catastrophic terrorism requires a thorough review of the laws permitting the military to act within the United States in order to determine whether domestic preparedness and response efforts would benefit from greater involvement of military personnel and, if so, how.

Hmmm. Now who would say that?

United States Army Combined Arms Center Ft. Leavenworth

CJ

And,

we see some "irony".

The National Guard in each state also is called upon to serve in foreign countries.

National Guard

Prior to the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, the National Guard's general policy regarding mobilization was that Guardsmen would be required to serve no more than one year cumulative on active duty (with no more than six months overseas) for each five years of regular drill. Due to strains placed on active duty units following the attacks, the possible mobilization time was increased to 18 months (with no more than one year overseas). Additional strains placed on military units as a result of the invasion of Iraq further increased the amount of time a Guardsman could be mobilized to 24 months. Current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six year enlistment period.

read the wiki info. there are several federal laws concerning the National guard.

reply to post by xuenchen


Again, thanks for that info - it appears you may be the only one on this site other than me who is interested.
From your source:

Many states also maintain their own State Defense Forces. These forces are federally recognized militia but not as an armed force service. Because of this, they are separate from the National Guard and are not meant to be federalized. They serve the state exclusively, especially when the National Guard is deployed or otherwise unavailable.

We've got our own "special" force for this business. Also, you noted the Ludlow massacre. Colorado and it's mining wars were pretty big in their own. Here are a few more examples of troops on soil.

21 September 1896
The state militia was sent to Leadville, Colorado to break a miner's strike.

29 April 1899
When their demand that only union men be employed was refused, members of the Western Federation of Miners dynamited the $250,000 mill of the Bunker Hill Company at Wardner, Idaho, destroying it completely. President McKinley responded by sending in black soldiers from Brownsville, Texas with orders to round up thousands of miners and confine them in specially built "bullpens."

23 November 1903
Troops were dispatched to Cripple Creek, Colorado to control rioting by striking coal miners.

Good Info

On four separate occasions between 1919 and 1921 the United States Army was ordered to intervene in labor disputes between miners and coal mine operators in West Virginia. Federal military interventions to maintain or restore civil authority threatened by unrest or riots originating from labor disputes was not unknown duty to army personnel. Between 1877 and 1920 several presidents had called upon the army to assist civil officials in quelling domestic disorders under authority of the Constitution and congressional statutes. In the vast majority of federal military interventions prior to 1917, regular army troops succeeded in restoring order quickly, with a minimum of injury and bloodshed, in strict adherence to orders issued within legal parameters set by the Constitution, federal statutes, and army regulations. Although questions of army neutrality were constantly raised, especially by labor groups and workingmen who were most often the focus of federal military interventions, historically United States Army actions during American domestic disturbances were amazingly non-partisan and non-violent when compared to the record of National Guard forces while under state control.1

W.V. Coal Mine Wars 1920-21

I thought I'd highlight an instance that does not seem to get historical recognition enough: The Auto-lite or "Toledo" riots.

The strike is notable for a five-day running battle between roughly 6,000 strikers and 1,300 members of the Ohio National Guard. Known as the "Battle of Toledo," the clash left two strikers dead and more than 200 injured.[1][2] The strike is regarded by many labor historians as one of the three most important strikes in U.S. history.[3]

Charge up Chestnut- The National Guard charge up Chestnut Street, pushing back strikers who had surrounded the Auto-Lite plant. This happened several times, and was described by one reporter as "a regular war scene." Nine-hundred National Guardsmen first arrived, which included eight rifle companies, three machine gun companies, and a medical unit. After the death of two of the protesters, 400 more troopers arrived.

Auto-Lite Riots

Thanks again! Dozens more to go!

CJ