Reluctance to use Insurrection Act

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper has said he opposes use of Insurrection Act, which would allow President Donald Trump to use active-duty forces for law enforcement duties.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon yesterday, Mr Esper said active-duty troops in a law enforcement role should be used in the US “only in the most urgent and dire of situations”, adding, “We are not in one of those situations now.” Use of the Insurrection Act has been discussed as Mr Trump has talked about using the military to quell violent protests in US cities.

Mr Trump has taken credit for a massive deployment of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers to the nation’s capital, saying it offered a model to states on how to quell protests nationwide.

He argued the massive show of force was responsible for protests in Washington and other cities turning more calm in recent days and repeated his criticism of governors who have not deployed their National Guard to the fullest.

It was a striking contrast to the harsh crackdowns outside the White House on Monday night, advocated by the president, who wanted to make the aggressive action in the nation’s capital an example for the rest of the country, a senior White House official said.

The Defence Department has drafted contingency plans for deploying active-duty military if needed.

Protests have sprung up following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down and pressed floyd’ s neck with his knee. Violent demonstrations have raged in scores of American cities, a level of unrest unseen for decades. New York City’s second night under curfew was calmer than the first, with mostly peaceful demonstrators marching.