by
David
McNew/Getty
Images)
Another
milemarker
on
the
George
Orwell
expressway
blurred
past
America’s
window
this
morning
while
the
country
metaphorically
looked
down
to
text-and-drive.
As
Marines
descended
upon
Los
Angeles
to
join
the
National
Guard
units
already
questionably
legally
called
up,
the
Defense
Department
assured
critics
that
they
would
only
NOT
arrest
people
—
something
they
cannot
legally
do
—
but
merely
involuntarily
detain
people
to
hand
over
to
local
law
enforcement.
Which
is
what
the
rest
of
us
call
“an
arrest.”
The
distinction
lovingly
crafted
by
the
administration’s
Newspeak
Generator
matters
so
much
because
Trump
has
not
invoked
the
full
force
of
the
Insurrection
Act.
It
may
be
shocking
to
see
self-driving
cars
on
fire
—
or
more
accurately,
shocking
to
see
self-driving
cars
that
aren’t
Teslas
on
fire
—
but
a
couple
burning
cars
does
not
a
rebellion
make.
When
storming
the
Capitol
to
hang
the
vice
president
isn’t
an
insurrection,
it’s
hard
to
see
where
one
even
draws
the
line
with
this
administration.
But
as
long
as
the
Insurrection
Act
remains
holstered,
the
troops
deployed
to
L.A.
are
constrained
by
Posse
Comitatus,
barring
law
enforcement
activity
and
limiting
the
units
to
support
and
logistics.
In
other
words…
no
arresting
people.
As
the
commanding
officer
leading
the
Marine
detachment
explained,
“They
do
not
do
any
arrest,
they
are
strictly
there
to
detain,
to
wait
for
law
enforcement
to
come
and
handle
those
demonstrators.”
Yep,
that’s
an
arrest.
An
arrest
is
effected
once
an
individual
is
no
longer
free
to
walk
away
from
the
arresting
official.
It
doesn’t
matter
if
they’re
being
detained
by
a
police
officer
or
a
Marine
sent
in
to
break
up
a
rash
of
dancing
like
the
parents
from
Footloose
except
with
assault
rifles
—
which,
in
fairness,
the
parents
from
Footloose
probably
would
have
in
2025.
That
the
detention
is
for
the
process
of
future
prosecution
only
strengthens
the
case
that
a
reasonable
person
would
see
this
as
an
arrest.
Because,
you
know,
they’re
holding
someone,
domestically,
so
they
can
face
enforcement…
for
some
sort
of
law
that’s
been
violated.
“Domestic
law
enforcement,”
if
you
will.
The
thing
that
the
military
cannot
do.
At
some
point,
the
government
will
analogize
the
troops
to
a
retail
security
guard
nabbing
a
shoplifter
and
claim
that
this
is
no
more
than
a
“citizen’s
arrest,”
which
somehow
magically
takes
this
outside
the
definition
of
law
enforcement.
Something
about
being
ziptied
by
guys
in
body
armor
carrying
automatic
weapons
sent
there
explicitly
by
order
of
the
government
pushes
this
past
what
a
reasonable
person
would
consider
a
mere
citizen’s
arrest.
A
CNN
report
added
that
the
Marines
will
only
be
allowed
to
make
these
detentions
if
de-escalation
is
not
working.
Yeah,
that
doesn’t
really
change
anything.
A
lot
of
arrests
begin
as
an
effort
to
de-escalate.
As
of
now,
the
Marines
aren’t
out
there.
They’ve
got
to
finalize
their
rules
governing
the
use
of
force,
which
likely
will
take
more
time
under
the
circumstances
given
that
domestic
law
enforcement
is
not
one
of
the
situations
they
ever
prepared
for
since
it’s
patently
illegal.
But
once
they’re
out
there,
it
won’t
be
long
until
they
“detain”
someone.
Then
we
begin
the
countdown
to
a
courtroom
showdown
over
the
scope
of
the
executive’s
power
to
sic
the
armed
forces
on
civilians.
Just
kidding.
The
Supreme
Court
already
agreed
that
a
president
sending
SEAL
Team
6
to
assassinate
a
political
rival
was
legal.
They’re
not
about
to
draw
a
line
over
where
the
target
happened
to
be
standing
when
the
Navy
pulled
the
trigger.
Troops
in
Los
Angeles
can
detain
but
not
arrest
individuals,
military
official
says
[Reuters]
Marines
in
Los
Angeles
have
power
to
detain
people,
says
major
general,
as
US
cities
brace
for
more
protests
–
live
[The
Guardian]
What
the
Hell
Is
Posse
Comitatus
Anyway?
[The
Nation]
Earlier:
Trump’s
National
Guard
Stunt
May
Finally
Give
The
Third
Amendment
Its
Moment
Joe
Patrice is
a
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Like
A
Lawyer.
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