"We are not even close. The troops that are responding right now are currently National Guard troops. They are there in support of state and local governments."
Mitchell added, "Realistically, it's not something that the military would declare."
Martial law occurs when the military chain of command is put in control of civilian society -- usually in a time of war -- when civilian courts and government are not functioning.
Martial law is an "extraordinary state of being, and it basically means the government isn't in control at all; there is no law. Martial law is the power of a commander," Banks said.
"The last time the law was declared in the United states was in Hawaii during World War II," he said, describing the military's response after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which resulted in Japanese Americans being put in internment camps.
ROFFMAN COMMENT: This is where we need a thorough investigation into the likes of Antifa and certain radical elements of thye Democrat Party. Antifa appears to be acting directly in the interest of China and/or Russia. As such, action against those that can be proven to be in collusion with hostile foreign powers in launching direct attacks against American cities could be seen as targets beyond normal restraints. The difficulty is that there is so much ignorance in America today that our military will have to deal with factions, some of which are for destroying our Government while others who are naive will be marching for higher purposes like preventing more George Floyd-type murders. They will be aiding an enemy that they have failed to recognize.
BANKS CONTINUES: In fact, Banks said, there is no longer a "publicly known procedure" for the enactment of martial law.
"Years ago, there were some regulations within the [Defense Department] that spoke to the possibility of martial law, but they have been taken off the books," he said. "We can't see them, so we don't even know if they exist anymore."
ROFFMAN COMMENT: That's music to Antifa's ears as well as to those of China, Russia, and any other terrestrail or alien ears out there. We are living in times that require certain knowledge of enemy and our own capabilities.
On Monday, Trump told governors during a call -- the audio of which was obtained by the Washington Post -- to "get much tougher" on protesters. He also tweeted support for Cotton's plan to deploy active-duty soldiers from combat units such as the 101st Airborne and 82nd Airborne Divisions to deal with rioters.
"There is this feeling that you are going to get your city destroyed by fire, people are going to get hurt or killed and we need to stomp on this," said Richard Kohn, professor emeritus of History and Peace, War and Defense at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
But deploCying combat troops to face down demonstrators could provoke the situation further and puts the U.S. military in a terrible position, he said.
"They know it's dangerous; they want to defend the American people," said Kohn, who served as the chief of Air Force History and chief historian for the Air Force from 1981 to 1991. "The overwhelming majority of the military leadership understand that they have to stand with and behind the American people and not in opposition to it or even appear to be in opposition to it."
ROFFMAN COMMENT: Caution is needed here. Reality is that we are rapidly become not one American people, but two. One is conservative while the other is Democrat/Socialist or even communist with some independants mixed in. These two groups appear to be heading toward a civil war, or a surprise attack from outside forces who seek to take advantage of the division and uncertainty.
BANKS CONTINUES: Typically, active-duty U.S. military personnel are prohibited from making arrests or serving other law enforcement functions by the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 which outlaws the willful use of any part of the armed forces to execute the law unless authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress.
"It basically reinforces sort of a cultural aversion Americans have had to military involvement with law enforcement," Banks said.
Active-duty troops can be empowered to act in a law enforcement role under the Insurrection act, an exception to Posse Comitatus that allows the president to deploy U.S. troops within the nation’s borders for specific purposes, including quelling disorder and rebellion. The Insurrection Act can be invoked, however, without realizing a state of martial law.
ROFFMAN COMMENT: A large number of protesters will not understand the subtle differences between the Insurrection Act and Martial Law. They will respond as they would to Martial Law. The military needs to prepare for this contingency.
BANKS CONTINUES: But Banks said there is a big difference between governors activating Guard units in their states and the White House ordering active-duty troops into communities.
"The National Guard forces that are deployed by governors in the cities inside states are members of those communities," he said. "And presumably they are being called by the governor because the governor has made a determination that the local law enforcement may not be able to manage civil order in their community -- it's a backup to the police.
"It's far less heavy-handed than the president federalizing an incident and sending in your military," Banks added.
But even if Trump decides to go that route, local, state and federal government officials would still control the response to civil unrest, he said.
"Presumably, if Congress is able to meet and if the president is alive and well, there is no need for martial law because they can govern effectively with institutions and the laws we have in place," Banks said.
ROFFMAN COMMENT: The idea that if the president is alive and well, there is no need for martial law because they can govern effectively with institutions and the laws we have in place is likely wrong as long as Nancy Pelosi or a traitor like her controls the House. For about a month while the COVID-19 virus spread through our nation here sole purpose and that our the Democrat majority in the House was to impeach the President. The Democrats viewed Trump's ban on flights to and from China as xenophobic. The impeachment/coup attempt failed but the Chinese (and possibly the aliens) succeeded in destroying 40,000,000 jobs and our economy plus killing at least 108,000 Americans. The current insurrection will likely add significantly to our COVID-19 death toll.
BANKS CONTINUES: "It's an extraordinary situation, and it's highly unlikely ever to occur in the United States."
President Abraham Lincoln declared martial law in several states during the Civil War, but the U.S. Supreme Court put an end to it in 1865, he said.
"There is an old case from the Civil War ... and the Supreme Court in that case in 1865 said that, so long as the government is operating, there is no justification for martial law," Banks explained.
-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
Related: Army Vet Lawmaker: Invoke Insurrection Act, Deploy Active-Duty Troops to Riots
