Insurrection

I've always believed and continue to believe that the National Guard is best suited for performing domestic support to civil authorities in these situations in support of local law enforcement.

The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations.  We are not in one of those situations now.  I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act.

-- US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in a statement regarding civil unrest, 3 June 2020