# Martial Law in Today's America - daily report **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 14, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021 "2025-08-14T02:43:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/281 "2026-08-20T16:19:09Z")
National Guard aren’t law enforcement, so it isn’t a shock that they aren’t performing those duties. That of course raises the question about why they are there. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/282 "2026-08-20T17:02:39Z")
Political theater? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/283 "2026-08-20T17:09:10Z")
[![](https://media.tenor.com/skdvdcnrhX8AAAAM/nose-tap-taps-nose-nose-tap.gif) ](https://media.tenor.com/skdvdcnrhX8AAAAM/nose-tap-taps-nose-nose-tap.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/284 "2026-08-22T01:19:49Z")
[Dictator not happy someone’s telling the truth about his actions.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-lawyer-liberal-think-tank-165901719.html) > [@](#): > > President Trump has demanded a liberal think tank [retract a critical report](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6022054-donald-trump-national-guard-dc-deployment-center-for-american-progress-criticism/) on his National Guard deployments by Friday evening, threatening to file a $5 billion defamation suit if it doesn’t. > > In a nine-page letter sent Monday by Trump’s personal attorney, which was reviewed by The Hill, he claimed the Center for American Progress (CAP) “manufactured” that the deployments weren’t improving violent crime. > > “Defendants did not merely draw a different academic conclusion; they defamed President Trump by distorting a contested empirical question into a sensational, false, malicious and defamatory accusation that President Trump knowingly lied to the American people,” attorney Alejandro Brito wrote. > > In a statement, CAP President and CEO Neera Tanden, a senior adviser to former President Biden, called the threat “baseless” and defended the report as “rigorous, evidence-based research and analysis.” > > “A fundamental protection of the First Amendment is to allow for the publication of facts and analysis that are contrary to the arguments and claims of any administration. A lawsuit is a transparent attempt to silence us. We will neither cower nor bend in the face of it,” she said. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/285 "2026-08-22T01:54:37Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > “Defendants did not merely draw a different academic conclusion; they defamed President Trump by distorting a contested empirical question into a sensational, false, malicious and defamatory accusation that President Trump knowingly lied to the American people,” attorney Alejandro Brito wrote. So, the plaintiff’s own statement admits that the empirical question is contested? Well, that settles that suit, then. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/286 "2026-08-25T02:44:57Z")
[Apparently some troops want the outfit renamed to the national wtf are we guarding here?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/national-guard-members-humiliate-trump-154800701.html) > [@](#): > > A year into President Donald Trump’s unprecedented deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., some of the troops sent there say they are embarrassed by the mission and increasingly question why they are still there. > > Three current National Guard members [told NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/08/24/nx-s1-5939973/national-guard-members-washington-dc-deployment), speaking anonymously because they remain in service, that the deployment has left them frustrated and concerned about the military’s reputation. > > “I will say very frankly that the bad taste that this mission left in my mouth, it actually embarrasses me to be involved in any way,” one said. > > Another said the experience had made him reluctant to even identify with the Guard. “I don’t want to think about the National Guard. I don’t want to necessarily discuss my affiliation with the National Guard. I don’t want to fulfill my normal National Guard duties just because of the abuses of the National Guard in this D.C. mission,” he said. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/287 "2026-09-09T05:59:07Z")
[Who’d’ve thought turning the military into vigilantes would turn them into extreme vigilantes?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/guardsman-faces-felony-charges-pulling-165126791.html) [quote] A Georgia National Guardsman assigned to the Washington, D.C. mission is facing felony charges after multiple witnesses said he drew his weapon and aimed it at another guardsman. Multiple guardsmen told police that it escalated over an argument about Army grooming regulations, court documents show. Spc. Zion Mitchell, 21, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, according to an arrest affidavit filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Mitchell was identified in an affidavit as one of the more than 3,000 National Guardsmen who have been [mobilized to Washington, D.C.](https://taskandpurpose.com/news/national-guard-dc-mission-extended-2026/), over the last year to assist with crime prevention. A spokesperson for the Georgia National Guard confirmed his service to Task & Purpose. According to court documents, the argument took place on the morning of Aug. 25 while a group of guardsmen were taking a break from patrol duties and were sitting in a parked black van in front of a Popeyes on H Street in Northeast D.C. The incident was investigated by the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. Six soldiers were identified in the affidavit for Mitchell’s arrest as Witnesses “1” through “6” and the soldier who allegedly had the weapon pointed at her was identified as “Victim 1” or “N.J.” ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/288 "2026-09-09T15:43:26Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > “Defendants did not merely draw a different academic conclusion; they defamed President Trump by distorting a contested empirical question into a sensational, false, malicious and defamatory accusation that President Trump knowingly lied to the American people,” attorney Alejandro Brito wrote. This statement alone should be enough to get this laughed out of any American courtroom. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/289 "2026-09-09T16:29:54Z")
Well, Trump did not ‘Knowingly’ lie. He’s just a stupid asshole. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/290 "2026-09-09T16:40:06Z")
Well, he certainly is a stupid asshole. I believe that he also knows when he is lying. I believe that his lying is intentional and deliberate. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/291 "2026-09-10T14:20:24Z")
Yeah, there’s just too much of it. Orders of magnitude more than anyone else. So much that it can’t possibly be accidental. He knows what he’s doing and enjoys it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/292 "2026-09-10T16:56:01Z")
I think he’s always had only a tenuous grasp on the idea of reality; and now I’m pretty sure he’s in dementia, and has even less of a sense of what is and isn’t real. He probably does genuinely still enjoy upsetting other people, though. I suspect that’s likely to get worse with dementia, not better. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/293 "2026-09-18T23:58:12Z")
[A year into the Occupation, Memphis isn’t thrilled.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/four-killings-revealing-autopsy-memphis-100015571.html) > [@](#): > > National guard troops began walking the streets of Memphis a year ago this week, as part of a federal surge of law enforcement agents sent into the city at the behest of the Trump administration to reduce violent crime. > > Fewer soldiers are on the street today, as the city’s grudging initial acceptance of the president’s deployment has given way to doubts about their effectiveness, focus and respect for civil rights – particularly after [four](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/08/memphis-federal-anticrime-agents-kill-man) men were killed in gunfire by federal agents working with the taskforce, with a recent autopsy showing that one was shot in the back. > > Donald Trump signed an [executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/restoring-law-and-order-in-memphis/) last September directing a surge of federal law enforcement agents from the ATF, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies into Memphis. A month later, Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, paired that with additional state patrol officers and the activation of 1,500 Tennessee national guard members to patrol the streets of downtown Memphis. And here’s some fun information, I mean “FAKE NEWS!!!” (_definition: Facts Felon Finds Frightening_): > [@](#): > > A [report](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administrations-1-7-billion-national-guard-deployments-fail-to-reduce-urban-crime/) by the Center for American Progress, a Washington DC-based thinktank, however, picked apart claims that large reductions in violence could be attributed to national guard patrols in New Orleans, Memphis and Washington DC, where the presence of troops on the tourist-heavy National Mall and the streets around the White House have become ubiquitous. > > Trump reacted to the center’s report by [threatening a personal defamation](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/21/trump-lawsuit-threat-national-guard-deployment-report) lawsuit against the authors for $5bn unless they retracted the report and issued an apology. > > Describing the deployments as a “political charade”, the CAP report used statistical regression to measure changes in violent crime against historical patterns and the double-digit drops in crime in other large cities. > > “The findings of this analysis confirm what many already suspected: At the time of the administration’s federal law enforcement and National Guard deployments, the primary goal was never to stop crime,” the report said. “Despite multiple tests using multiple data sources, measures, and windows of time, there is no compelling evidence that these deployments reduced homicides, violent crime, or gun violence.” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/294 "2026-10-11T06:38:33Z")
[The martial law election begins in the Dictatorship of Columbia.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/national-guard-says-actively-addressing-220118356.html) (Cross-posted in the cluster continues thread.) > [@](#): > > The District of Columbia’s Board of Elections formally requested that the National Guard stay away from voting locations after troops were spotted standing in front of a ballot drop box on Thursday. > > The elections board [confirmed](https://www.washingtonsun.com/metro/national-guard-dc-ballot-boxes) to the Washington Sun it had sent a request to the National Guard, calling on it to “impose limitations on the placement of National Guard service members near drop boxes and other voting locations in the District.” The formal request came after photos emerged on Thursday of several National Guard members standing near a Foggy Bottom ballot drop box. Joint Task Force-District of Columbia, which is coordinating the multi-state military deployment to the capital, confirmed it is aware of the incident. > > The Washington Sun first reported on the board’s request. The Council of the District of Columbia, the legislature for the district, [said](https://bsky.app/profile/councilofdc.bsky.social/post/3mxhqb3zp4c2y) on social media that the presence of troops near the box “is clearly not acceptable.” > > > _This is clearly not acceptable [pic.twitter.com/rrlQWhtgkD](https://t.co/rrlQWhtgkD)_ > > > > _— Council of DC (@councilofdc) [October 9, 2026](https://x.com/councilofdc/status/2108643974583919026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)_ > > A JTF-DC spokesperson told Task & Purpose that the task force is “aware of imagery circulating online of service members standing near a ballot drop box” and working to address it. > > “Maintaining public trust is a top priority, and JTF-DC service members are directed not to monitor or secure polling locations,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Task & Purpose. “JTF-DC is actively addressing this specific instance and remains fully committed to conducting its missions professionally, lawfully, and with respect for the public’s constitutional rights.” I notice there was nothing said about the irony of that last comment. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/295 "2026-10-18T06:27:17Z")
[Yep, we’re going to have martial law all over the country in a matter of weeks.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-allies-pushing-martial-law-170138862.html) > [@](#): > > Maga allies of Donald Trump have said the president should use martial law if the Republicans lose the [midterm elections](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/10/11/us-midterm-elections-2026/). > > Participants in the Precinct Project & Election Integrity video call on Sept 30 streamed on Rumble claimed that voter fraud could take place in the November elections and that postal votes were particularly at risk. > > The call is a regular feature of the Maga community, providing a platform for voices across the country, including [Steve Bannon](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/steve-bannon), the former White House chief strategist, and Tina Peters, a prominent Maga activist. > > Peter Ticktin, a childhood friend of the US president and an attorney, claimed that voter addresses were being changed on mail-in ballots and were being used to commit election fraud on a massive scale and discount votes. There is no evidence of this. > > He said, should the Democrats win, [martial law](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/martial-law) should be imposed to check whether the election was “rigged”. > > “What I’m saying about martial law is that in the event that the nightmare scenario comes through… in the event that [the Democrats] get enough Senate seats or they get enough Senators that are compromised… at that point, [Donald Trump](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/donald-trump) is not going to just turn over the country again,” he said. > > He added: “For America alone, he is not going to be able to just accept what comes…there would have to be martial law in the event that [Democrats] are on the way [to] taking over the country through another rigged election.” > > Mr Ticktin later told Axios that the military would need to take control of ballots and equipment to make sure that the election had not been rigged and prevent further instances of voter fraud. At least that’s what those loons want. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/296 "2026-10-24T01:27:47Z")
[Court rules the felon’s military occupation was illegal.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/appeals-court-rules-trump-unlawfully-173911885.html) > [@](#): > > A federal appeals court on Friday [ruled 2-1](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca9.4e2731d4-cbd8-4803-a59f-a1d0c6023daf/gov.uscourts.ca9.4e2731d4-cbd8-4803-a59f-a1d0c6023daf.179.1.pdf) that President Trump’s National Guard deployment to the Los Angeles area last year [was unlawful.](https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5348172-judge-blocks-trumps-national-guard-deployment-in-los-angeles/) > > The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected Trump’s assertion that violent demonstrations in the city protesting his immigration crackdown justified him [wresting control](https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5445432-newsom-sues-trump-guardsmen/) of the troops from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). > > Although Trump’s deployment has ended, the decision caps a year of consideration by the appeals court. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/297 "2026-10-24T01:42:05Z")
And the consequences are that… What, Susan Collins might briefly furrow her brow? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/298 "2026-10-24T02:03:49Z")
The felon sends the troops in again. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/299 "2026-10-24T02:06:25Z")
Sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021/300 "2026-11-07T06:59:47Z")
[Peter, Peter, Pumpkin lover is jacking up the occupation strength in the Dictatorship of Columbia.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/hegseth-adds-more-humvees-patrol-221129838.html) > [@](#): > > The Pentagon is escalating the National Guard’s support of law enforcement in Washington, D.C. — granting them the use of dozens of marked patrol cars, military tactical vehicles, and boats, officials with the task force in charge confirmed to Task & Purpose. > > The new authorizations were detailed in an Oct. 29 memo signed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The memo was originally [reported by Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/11/05/hegseth-expands-d-c-national-guard-presence-01151398) and confirmed by Task & Purpose. > > The October guidance authorizes the National Guard to use up to 60 marked patrol cars, military tactical vehicles, including Humvees and light medium tactical vehicles — utility trucks used by the military for hauling cargo and transporting personnel — and up to 20 light towers and generators, and D.C. National Guard maritime boat assets. Officials with Joint Task Force – District of Columbia said that the additional equipment is to be used “in support of federal and local law enforcement operations.” [Do you suppose this is why the occupation is getting bolstered?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/man-arrested-near-white-house-171943382.html) > [@](#): > > A man has been arrested after making a “finger gun” gesture towards a National Guard service member near the [White House](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/white-house), according to a report. > > ​William Clark, 28, allegedly made a “shooting gun gesture with a finger gun” toward the service member Monday evening. The [National Guard](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-national-guard-deployment-dc-2029-b3027476.html)member was driving a van on a street running alongside the Ellipse at the time, an affidavit obtained by _[The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6199306-dc-national-guard-arrest-finger-gun/)_[](https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6199306-dc-national-guard-arrest-finger-gun/)stated. > > ​Clark’s arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile cases in the nation’s capital, with [another including an Olympic canoeist](https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/david-hearn-criminal-misconduct-reflecting-pool-b3070913.html) and [man throwing a sandwich at federal officers](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/sandwich-guy-thrower-trial-mustard-b2858520.html). > > ​Documents reviewed by [ABC News 4](https://abcnews4.com/news/nation-world/dc-washington-national-guard-finger-gun-pointing-gesture-van-detained-police-pershing-park-white-house-complex-national-mall-15th-e-military) stated that Clark had a phone in one hand while he made the shooting gesture with the other. He was detained by National Guard members until police arrived. He was then arrested him for threats in a menacing manner and assault on a police officer. > > ​Clark was released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty. > > A Tuesday court filing examined by _The Hill_ showed that he faced an assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner misdemeanor charge. No separate charge for assaulting a police officer appeared in the filing. > > ​Under [D.C. law](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/22-404), a conviction for “assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner” can lead to a prison sentence of up to 180 days, a $1,000 fine, or both. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-law-in-todays-america-daily-report/1022021.md?page=14)