President Donald Trump hosted an event for Black History Month at the White House. With his Black confidants, Omarosa Manigault and Ben Carson, by his side, Trump shared a few thoughts on Black History Month. However, he took the occassion to speak mostly about himself and his ongoing feud with CNN.
Darrell Scott, a Cleveland pastor, said that he was contacted by Chicago gang leaders about a potetntial meeting with Trump. “I was recently contacted by some of the top gang thugs in Chicago for a sit down,” Scott said during the meeting. “They want to sit down about lowering the body count. In a couple of weeks, we don’t want to talk about anything but lowering the body count. Theses are street guys. They want to commit to lowering the body count if we’ll bring in social programs. They want to work with this administration.”
Trump responded by suggesting that his admistaration would “fix” the problem if the city could not control the violence. “If they don’t solve the problem, we’re going to solve the problem,” Trump said. “If they’re not going to solve the problem, then we’re going to solve the problem for them. Because we’re going to have to do something. What’s happening in Chicago should not be happening in this country.”
Trump threatened to send in the FBI if the violence in Chicago doesn’t come to an end. However, some feared that his appraoch would equate to Marshal Law. If martial law is enacted, those who live in Chicago, or the communities that are targeted, would lose their rights. Military troops would control street corners, curfews would be set, and authorities would be allowed to stop and check every person without probable cause.
It’s an extreme approach that would remove control from the citizens who are not involved in crime or violence. But Trump’s plan may be illegal. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the deployment of federal troops to do the job of local law enforcement.
