Excellent analysis of the Insurrection Act and who Trump can call up to defend the nation. A long read, but worthwhile.
Note the wording about the unorganized militia:
Trump commands an unorganized militia consisting of every able-bodied man between the ages of 17 and 45. The men don’t need to be in the National Guard. They don’t need to be veterans. They don’t need to be anything except 17 to 45 and able-bodied.
https://macris.substack.com/p/trump-at-the-rubicon
https://archive.md/RRtbJ
Trump at the Rubicon
How the Insurrection Act and Militia Act Empower Trump to Cast the Die
Alexander Macris
Nov 18
"The history of the Insurrection Act dates back all the way to 1797, and the legislative record is so long and tortured that it’s woeful to contemplate. Suffice to say that in the 21st century, the Insurrection Act has been pleasantly re-titled “The Enforcement of the Laws to Restore Public Order Act” and codified in four sections of the US Code:
10 USC § 251 Federal Aid for State Governments
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/251
10 USC § 252 Use of Militia and Armed Forces to Enforce Federal Authority
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/252
10 USC § 253 Interference with State and Federal Law
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/253
10 USC § 254 Proclamation to Disperse
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/254
Of the four provisions, the most recent and the most powerful is 10 USC § 253, which was written in 2006. This is the one that liberal pundits always forget to mention when they blab about Posse Comitatus and governors."
…
"The militia is defined by 10 U.S. Code § 246:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/246
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and… under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
This is, again, an incredibly powerful piece of legislation. Put into plain English, and ignoring a few minor exemptions (postal workers, etc), Trump commands an unorganized militia consisting of every able-bodied man between the ages of 17 and 45. The men don’t need to be in the National Guard. They don’t need to be veterans. They don’t need to be anything except 17 to 45 and able-bodied.
Remember that 10 USC § 253 grants the President the power to use the militia to take such measures as he considers necessary to suppress conspiracy. The militia is statutorily defined to include the unorganized militia.
Therefore, when you combine 10 USC § 253 with 10 USC § 246, the President can call on every able-bodied male age 17 to 45 to take any means he deems necessary to suppress the conspiracy to deny Americans their voting rights.
How many men is that? With 328M Americans, 50% of them male, and 40% of them between 18 and 45, that’s 65M militia members."
h/t https://twitter.com/paul_furber/status/1330520145912098820