U.S. defense chief opposes deploying troops to quell protests, despite Trump threats

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Wednesday he does not support invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty forces to quell civil unrest for now, despite President Donald Trump’s threats to militarize America’s response to mass protests.

Trump said this week he could use military forces in states that fail to crack down on sometimes violent protests over the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.

The military has pre-positioned 1,600 active duty forces on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., to deploy if needed.

Esper said he regretted using the term “battlespace” this week to describe areas gripped by protests.

Esper said he was unaware that he would be part of Trump’s politically charged photo opportunity on Monday, when law enforcement forcibly cleared a park outside the White House of peaceful protesters so that the president could take a picture in front of a church holding a Bible.