1. United States
2. Kan.
3. Letter

Do not increase funding for the military and paramilitary groups. We don’t want to live in a military state. The parade’s show of military might is a waste of money, but it illustrates Trump’s willingness to turn the military against our own citizens. He’s said it and he’s done it. He has praised China’s 1989 Tiananmen Massacre of students. In 2020 for his “church walk”, Trump had the military use pepper balls and smoke canisters to disperse largely peaceful protesters causing the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to apologize. The military doesn’t have a place in domestic politics. And now we see Trump calling out the national guard on American people against the wishes of the state government. Yesterday the Trump administration acted unilaterally. Citing vague claims of “riots and lawlessness,” Trump federalized 2,000 National Guard troops under Title 10, stripping Governor Newsom of command and placing California’s Guard directly under presidential control. This is a highly unusual and provocative move, as it bypasses the consent of state leadership and circumvents the typical protocol where governors retain control unless the Insurrection Act is invoked. Trump’s move violate both the Tenth Amendment, which reserves key powers to the states, and the spirit of the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts military involvement in domestic law enforcement! This wasn’t a response to emergency; it was a political show of force. By deploying the military to a state that neither requested nor needed it, the Trump administration intentionally inflamed tensions. It created a situation where troops, many of whom are California residents themselves, could be forced to confront civilians exercising their First Amendment rights. The ACLU and other civil rights groups condemned the move as an “inflammatory abuse of power,” warning that it places civilians and soldiers in danger and undermines the core democratic principle that the military should not police the American people. What happened in California wasn’t just an overreaction, it was another warning sign. When a president sends troops into a state against its will, not to keep the peace but to provoke conflict, it crosses a constitutional line. Again, it turns democracy into theater, and again he uses the armed forces as props. That’s not public safety. That’s authoritarianism. Investigate, impeach, and withhold increased funding for military and paramilitary. Support our democracy and our constitution.