Richard Blumenthal Reveals Trump 'Martial Law' Fear
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said he is concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump will use the unrest in Los Angeles as a "pretext" for "imposing martial law".
Blumenthal is working on legislation to limit presidential powers for troop deployments inside the U.S., an issue he has raised before. He wants to overhaul the Insurrection Act of 1792, seeing it as too broad in scope.
Trump has deployed 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles, in defiance of the wishes of state and local leaders, after protests against federal immigration raids descended into riots and looting.
"As Trump moves to expand military deployments, possibly using protests in L.A. as a pretext for more broadly silencing free speech or even imposing martial law, I'll be reintroducing reforms to the Insurrection Act that check potential abuse or overreach," Blumenthal posted to X, formerly Twitter, late Monday.
The Democratic Senator told POLITICO separately: "The mainstream of America really believes deeply that our military should be used to defend our national interests and security, not to silence protest at home."
He had previously talked of overhauling the Insurrection Act in 2024 after Trump said he would consider sending the military into American cities to deal with crime and violence.
Among the Senate committees to which Blumenthal is a member are the judiciary, homeland security, and armed services.
This is a developing article. Updates to follow.
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