President Donald Trump has ordered federal agencies to increase the flow of military and national security equipment to local law enforcement, a move that has raised concerns about the militarization of policing across the United States.
Why It Matters
Research into militarized police forces has found the practice can erode public trust, escalate encounters between police and citizens and blur the distinction between military operations and domestic law enforcement.
This executive order specifically has increased fears around an encroachment toward martial law. The president has already called for his government to review the Insurrection Act, which would give more domestic power to the military, and now wants to provide regular law enforcement with militaristic material.
What To Know
The “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens” executive order, which the president signed on Monday, directs Attorney General Pam Bondi [Bimbo #3] and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in consultation with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem [Bimbo #2] and other agency heads, to “increase the provision of excess military and national security assets in local jurisdictions” within 90 days.
The directive gives the attorney general and the secretary of defense a three-month deadline to begin expanding the provision of military and national security resources to “assist state and local law enforcement.”
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-new-order-sparks-martial-law-concerns-2065618