2.14 Territory of Hawaii in World War II (1941-1944).2.3 Nauvoo, Illinois, during the Illinois Mormon War (1843).In the United States, martial law has been used in a limited number of circumstances, such as New Orleans during the Battle of New Orleans after major disasters, such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, or during riots, such as the Omaha race riot of 1919 or the 1920 Lexington riots local leaders declared martial law to protect themselves from mob violence, such as Nauvoo, Illinois, during the Illinois Mormon War, or Utah during the Utah War or in response to chaos associated with protests and rioting, such as the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike, in Hawaii after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and during the Civil Rights Movement in response to the Cambridge riot of 1963. In each state, the governor has the power to impose martial law within the borders of the state. On a national level, both the US President and the US Congress have the power, within certain constraints, to impose martial law since both can be in charge of the militia. Martial law in the United States refers to times in United States history in which in a region, state, city, or the whole United States was placed under the control of a military body. that is ‘fake news,'' Olson wrote.Displacement of civil law by military rule in America “The media will call this martial law.What they're saying: “Our little band of lawyers is working on a memorandum that explains exactly what you can do,” Olson wrote in his memo to Trump. Olson also had ties to Republican super PACs and promoted a conspiracy theory that Kamala Harris is not eligible to be vice president, falsely claiming she is not a natural-born U.S.Olson acknowledged that doing so would draw negative media coverage.īackground: Olson currently represents conspiracy theorist and MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell, who was sanctioned over an election suit. He also encouraged Trump to fire or reassign acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen if he would not use the DOJ to challenge the election in court.According to the memo, Olson suggested that the DOJ would intercede directly with the Supreme Court to reverse Trump's defeat.Many of his official advisers had told him those options were impossible or unlawful.ĭetails: The New York Times reports that Trump continued to seek extreme legal advice that went against the recommendations of the DOJ.

The document highlights how Trump was turning to extreme, far-right figures outside the White House to pursue options to cling to power, the New York Times writes.28 memo titled “Preserving Constitutional Order.” His plans included tampering with the Justice Department and firing the acting attorney general, according to the Dec.Why it matters: In the memo, William Olson conceded that his proposed plans could be regarded as tantamount to declaring “martial law” and could be compared with Watergate. A lawyer with deep ties to conservative groups and conspiracy theorists pushed several extreme ideas to then-President Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 elections, according to a document obtained by the New York Times.

Trump and martial law