• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Rarely used 1807 law Trump threatens to invoke explained as it could have catastrophic effects on citizens

Home> News> Politics

Updated 13:39 11 Jun 2025 GMT+1Published 13:28 11 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Rarely used 1807 law Trump threatens to invoke explained as it could have catastrophic effects on citizens

The law has been used in times of civil unrest

Liv Bridge

Liv Bridge

Donald Trump has threatened to invoke a 1807 law which could inflict catastrophe on citizens.

Since coming back to the White House for a second term in January, President Trump has launched an aggressive commitment to crack down on drugs, crime and immigration.

To this end, the Trump administration has been digging up laws from hundreds of years ago, including the 18th century 'Alien Enemies Act' of 1798, which has controversially been used to fuel mass deportations of migrants.

Advert

The POTUS also signed an executive order on his first day back in office, declaring an emergency at the US southern border.

Donald Trump is looking at some controversial laws (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Donald Trump is looking at some controversial laws (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Now, Trump is looking at invoking a rare piece of legislation from the 19th century which could be used to address that emergency - and to halt immigration-related protests.

What is the Insurrection Act of 1807?

The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the use of active-duty military personnel to carry out law enforcement duties across the US.

Advert

Essentially, it could see troops taking on duties from squashing civil unrest to carrying out court orders to arrest and detain immigrants.

It also extends to the National Guard - a wing of the US Armed Forces that traditionally attend domestic emergencies and disasters.

National Guard soldiers have been sent to LA to the objection of the Californian governor (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
National Guard soldiers have been sent to LA to the objection of the Californian governor (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It can only be invoked by a US president if they determine that 'unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion' against the government make it 'impracticable to enforce' the law 'by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings', as per the BBC.

Why does Trump want to invoke the 19th century law?

Since declaring a state of emergency at the US border, Trump has hinted at bringing the law back into force and more recently sent thousands of National Guard troops and Marines to immigration-related protests in Los Angeles.

Advert

Days of unrest was sparked after immigration enforcement swarmed in and arrested large groups of undocumented migrants in areas with large Latino populations.

Unrest has sparked out in LA in response to immigration enforcement crackdowns (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Unrest has sparked out in LA in response to immigration enforcement crackdowns (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The president slammed the demos as violent, though the governor of California and the mayor of Los Angeles accuse Trump of overstepping by deploying troops to the state, with Gov Gavin Newsom going so far as to say it was driven by 'the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president'.

Despite the backlash, Trump said he wouldn't hesitate to invoke the law full-time.

Advert

"If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it," Trump said on Tuesday (June 10). "We'll see."

When has the law been used in history?

The Insurrection Act has been invoked just a handful of times in US history.

American presidents have used it during times of mass civil unrest and to crackdown on racist violence, from Abraham Lincoln who invoked it when southern states rebelled against the US Civil War to President Ulysses S Grant who used it to against white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan.

Advert

Troops escorting black pupils to Little Rock school in Arkansas, 1957 (Getty Images)
Troops escorting black pupils to Little Rock school in Arkansas, 1957 (Getty Images)

Former President Dwight D Eisenhower also brought it back to allow the US Army to escort black pupils to high school in Arkansas after the governor refused to oblige to a federal desegregation order.

It was last used in 1992 by then-president George Bush who invoked it to quell LA riots that broke out in protest of the acquittal of four white police officers accused of brutally beating a black man, Rodney King.

Could Trump face legal challenges for the law?

US governments have traditionally tried to restrict the use of military force and have enacted such laws in times of mass unrest.

Advert

The Supreme Court has stepped in some of Trump's orders recently (Getty Images)
The Supreme Court has stepped in some of Trump's orders recently (Getty Images)

Trump has continued to extent his powers by declaring national emergencies, which liberates access to certain powers and resources which has helped him in both his tariff war and the crackdown on immigration.

However, that's not to say it's been without hiccup, as the Supreme Court has challenged some of Trump's orders and temporarily blocked his attempts to deport alleged gang members under the Alien Enemies Act.

If he invokes the Insurrection Act of 1807, it's unclear if he will face similar legal challenges.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/FOX 5 DC

Topics: Donald Trump, Immigration, Military, US News, Police, Politics, Los Angeles

Liv Bridge
Liv Bridge

Liv Bridge is a digital journalist who joined the UNILAD team in 2024 after almost three years reporting local news for a Newsquest UK paper, The Oldham Times. She's passionate about health, housing, food and music, especially Oasis...

X

@livbridge

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
  • an hour ago

    Heartbreaking update after tourist, 22, has legs torn off by boat propeller in horror accident

    The young woman has had over 20 surgeries since the tragic accident

    News
  • an hour ago

    'Godfather of AI' reveals the one job that will survive as artificial intelligence takes over workplaces

    Geoffrey Hinton has warned that humanity is at risk due to the development of AI

    Technology
  • an hour ago

    Mysterious object caught on radar above Washington DC has people 'freaking out' over terrifying theories

    A meteorologist has explained what the weird streak was

    News
  • an hour ago

    At least 8 people dead after hot air balloon crashes with 21 on board

    The governor of Santa Catarina state confirmed the sad news

    News
  • Trump announces plans to give $1,000 to everyone born between these set years
  • Journalists shot by LAPD could sue police under specific US law
  • Trump threatens Elon Musk with ‘very serious consequences’ if he decides to do this one thing as feud continues
  • Everyone is pointing out major issue as Trump deploys 2000 National Guard troops to disperse protests