protests
111 Articles
International Standards Regarding the Handling of Demonstrations
Just as much as nauseating scenes of excessive use of force by the police captured by media and citizens’ smartphones fly in the face of the protections that should be afforded…
![A collage of tweets and statements. The first statement by Mike Mullen, Seventeenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reads on June 2, 2020, “I cannot remain silent. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy.” A tweet from Admiral Mike Franken, no date, reads, “I’m a retired three-star admiral running for United States Senate in Iowa. The military is a tool of last resort to defend our nation. It is not a weapon to use against our citizens or our states.” A tweet from Tony Thomas on June 1, 2020 reads, “The ‘battle space’ of America??? Not what America needs to hear…ever, unless we are invaded by an adversary or experience a constitutional failure…ie a Civil War…” A tweet from retired General Martin E. Dempsey, no date, reads, “America’s military, our sons and daughters, will place themselves at risk to protect their fellow citizens. Their job is unimaginably hard overseas; harder at home. Respect them, for they respect you. America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy. #BeBetter” A tweet from General Michael Hayden, no date, reads, “I was appalled to see him in his battle dress. Mi [cut off] a general?!?) should not have walked over to th [cut off] with Trump.” A tweet from Mark Hertling reads, “’Dominating the battle space,’ democratic values.” A tweet from Berry R McCaffrey on June 1, 2020 reads, “On MSNBC. Monday. 1 June. 11 pm ET. Brian Williams. Trump and the Insurrection Act. The murder of George Floyd by a police officer was the spark that detonated the anger at injustice. Using military forces other than Nat Guard would be inflammatory.” A tweet by @stavridisj, no date, reads, “American tradition says the use of active duty [cut off] to quell domestic disputes should be absol [cut off] resort and done at the request of not over the [cut off] objection of governors. I agree with that – th [cut off] role for the National Guard not active duty.” The last statement comes from an article by Jeffrey Goldberg and reads, “James Mattis denounces President Trump, describes him as threat to the Constitution. In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary [cut off] protestors and says the president is trying to turn Americans against [cut off] another.”](https://i0.wp.com/www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Mattis-collage.jpg?fit=1024%2C483&ssl=1)
The Generals’ Constitution
When retired senior military officers “break ranks” to publicly criticize current political affairs, they often invoke a defense of the Constitution. In light of their oaths…
What Does the Constitutional Right of Assembly Protect? What Counts as “Peaceable”? And Who Should Decide?
Municipal rules governing access to public space and existing criminal law significantly circumscribe protestors’ expressive freedom, especially their right to be disruptive.
The United States’ Racial Justice Problem Is Also an International Human Rights Law Problem
An essay by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Professor E. Tendayi Achiume.
If We Could See Ourselves from the Outside
Can a change of perspective dislodge the assumed inevitability of an enduring democracy?
The U.S. Constitution and Limits on Detention and Use of Force in Handling Civil Unrest
Under what circumstances may the government use lethal and non- or lesser-lethal force in the face of unlawful protests, riots, and looting?
The Military Justice Dimension: Constraints on Military Personnel in Handling Civil Unrest
Top Expert Backgrounder: How the code of military justice applies to National Guard and other military personnel responding to protests. What must they do if the president issues…
Invoking “Terrorism” Against Police Protestors
"The invocation of 'terrorism' to respond to Antifa—and those protesting police violence more generally—has real consequences even if it does not create new legal powers."
The President and the Domestic Deployment of the Military: Answers to Five Key Questions
Can President Trump use the military without governors' consent? What are the rules for the use of force?
Don’t Let Trump Say the “American Carnage” of 2020 is What He Claimed in 2016. It’s Not.
The violence we’re seeing right now is not the so-called “American carnage” President Trump described in 2016 as he simultaneously claimed only he could lead the country…
Far-Right Infiltrators and Agitators in George Floyd Protests: Indicators of White Supremacists
Evidence points to specific White Supremacist and far-right groups having infiltrated George Floyd protests, writes scholar of violent extremism, Georgia State University professor…
Can We Finally Admit That “One Country, Two Systems” Is Dead in Hong Kong?
Things in Hong Kong were supposed to be different. After the People’s Republic of China (PRC) assumed sovereignty over the former British colony, the territory was supposed to…