Can Trump Intervene In Seattle? It’s A Question Of Prudence, One Expert Says.

In the past two weeks, riots and civil unrest has raged throughout the country. In Seattle, that unrest has morphed into the creation of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) – six city blocks that have been commandeered by some to create a police-free version of their desired utopia.

In response, President Trump has warned  Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee that he will be forced to take action against the squatters if they continue to stay unabated.

“Radical Left Governor [Inslee] and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before. Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!” the president tweeted on Thursday.

“Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle, run by Radical Left Democrats, of course. LAW & ORDER!” he later added.

Should the mayor and governor fail to act, does President Trump have the power to remove the squatters himself? According to law professor John Yoo, he certainly does.

“The Constitution and congressional acts give Trump the legal power to call up National Guard units or even active-duty forces to stop disturbances that prevent the enforcement of the law,” Yoo wrote in an op-ed for Fox News. “While Trump has wisely refrained from any widescale deployment of troops, the failure of state or local governments to maintain order may demand federal intervention.”

Though Yoo conceded that law and order under most circumstances fall under the jurisdiction of state and local governments, he emphasized that there are times when those powers fail to protect the health and safety of the people. The Insurrection Act of 1807 specifically authorizes the president to deploy troops in the effort to quell rioting that “opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.” The execution of the Insurrection Act is not without historical precedent:

In 1794, George Washington called for the state militias to put down the Whiskey Rebellion. The most famous case was Abraham Lincoln’s deployment of federal forces against the Confederacy at the outbreak of the Civil War. Under the Insurrection Act, Dwight Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne when Arkansas Gov. Orville Faubus refused to desegregate Little Rock’s public schools. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush sent troops to help restore order in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots.

“The unrest in Seattle raises a more difficult case that arises when cities refuse to respond to civil disorder and leave innocent civilians to their fates at the hands of the violent,” Yoo concluded. “In the unfortunate event that city authorities disregard their fundamental responsibility to protect health and safety, the administration may have to reconsider the prudent policy, so far, of refraining from the use of troops in our cities.”

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