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What Is Martial Law and How Could Trump Declare It
If someone has declared martial law, they’re essentially saying that they are the law.
Two days ago, on December 18, Donald Trump openly talked about imposing martial law in a White House meeting that, reportedly, left some his aides befuddled.
What we’re all thinking is summarised in the title of this piece by the Atlantic: Trump is losing his mind. The problem is that he is still in charge for another month, and in the meantime, he can do a lot of damage. Donald lame-duck Trump isn’t funny anymore, he’s unhinged, and he’s becoming more dangerous than he’s ever been.
For weeks now, his supporters have been calling for “marshal law” to be declared. That they would so strongly desire something they can’t even spell, and properly know nothing about, tells us a lot about them.
The main consequence of martial law is the suspension of civil liberties.
Now that Trump is seriously considering this course of action too, we need to look at how it would play out. What does he have to do to declare martial law, and what would the consequences be?
To begin with, martial law isn’t described in the Constitution. Declaring it is a…
