I am seeing a ton of misinformation over this new DOD Directive.
Newsflash: The DOD has always had this authority. I’ll explain as briefly as I can.
This new directive has to do with intelligence assistance to domestic law enforcement. Not physical, troops on the ground assistance. It is essentially saying that if the military is going to be providing intelligence assets or equipment to law enforcement that could potentially result in us of lethal force (like drones for example), then it requires specific approval directly from SECDEF.
The DOD has actually always had “authority” to use lethal force if/when assisting local law enforcement. There is a specific directive dealing with use of deadly force going back to the 90s from what I could find online but it was most recently updated November 6th, 2020 (interesting timing) – DOD DIRECTIVE 5210.56 – ARMING AND THE USE OF FORCE.
Here is the section in DoDD 5210.56 relating to deadly force when assisting domestic law enforcement.
The Posse Comitatus Act restricts use of military domestically without special authorization. If anything, I believe this new directive broadens that special authority to bypass congress and giving the President and SECDEF more leeway. We could argue whether having the authority to use lethal force at all is a good thing but that authority has always been there.
Watch John Herold discuss the directive on Wednesday night’s DEvOLutiOn.
Devolution Power Hour #293
‘This reading aligns with common sense,’ Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority in a decision that could have big implications for deportation proceedings.
