FM 19-15 Civil Disturbances -.pdf

FM 19-15

FM 19-15

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CHAPTER 1

Civil Disturbances

Civil disturbances arise from acts of civil disobedience.

They occur most often when participants in mass acts of civil

disobedience become antagonistic toward authority, and

authorities must struggle to wrest the initiative from an unruly

crowd. In the extreme, civil disturbances include criminal acts of

terrorism. Civil disturbances, in any form, are prejudicial to

public law and order.

FEDERAL INTERVENTION AND AID

Under the US Constitution and the US

Code, the President is empowered to direct

federal intervention in civil disturbances to:

Respond to state requests for aid in

restoring order.

Enforce the laws of the United States.

Protect the civil rights of citizens.

Protect federal property and functions.

Under the Constitution, each state is

responsible for protecting life and property

within its boundaries. State and local

governments use their civil forces to

maintain law and order and to quell

civil disturbances. However, if a civil

disturbance exceeds the resources of a

state, federal troops may be called upon to

help restore and maintain law and order.

The Constitution and federal statutes

authorize the President to direct the use of

federal armed troops within the 50 states,

the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and

US possessions and territories and their

political subdivisions. The President is also

empowered to federalize the National

Guard of any state to suppress rebellion

and enforce laws.

Federal aid is given to a state when the

state has used all of its resources, including

its National Guard, to quell a disorder

and finds the resources not sufficient.

Usually, active-duty federal forces are used

to augment the requesting state’s National

Guard. But the President may choose to

federalize another state’s National Guard

and use them, alone or with other forces, to

restore order.

The President also can employ federal

troops to ensure the execution of US law

when a state opposes or obstructs US law

or impedes the course of justice under those

laws. And the President can employ armed

federal troops to suppress insurrection,

domestic violence, unlawful assemblies,

and conspiracy if such acts deprive the

people of their constitutional rights and

privileges and a state’s civil authorities

cannot or will not provide adequate

protection.

The President is also authorized to use

armed federal troops to protect federal

property and functions when the need

for protection exists and the local civil

authorities cannot or will not give adequate

protection. The right of the United States

to protect all federal property and functions

regardless of their locations is an accepted

principle of our government.

As a temporary measure, federal military

equipment and facilities may be loaned to

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state and local governmental bodies and

requesting agencies are expected to provide

civil disturbances. These resources may

the need for US military resources. And the

also be loaned to a state’s National Guard

loan of the resources must not conflict with

and to nonDOD federal agencies. The

US military needs.

CAUSES

Civil disturbances may arise from a

number of causes. Most often they arise

from political grievances, urban economic

conflicts and community unrest, terrorist

acts, or foreign influences. The event may

be triggered by a single cause. Or it may

arise from a combination of causes.

community’s relations with local police are

part of the problem.

Significant cultural differences in a

community can create an atmosphere of

distrust. Unrest among ethnic groups

competing for jobs can erupt into civil

disturbance. Sometimes a large group of

refugees resettles in one community,

creating unrest in the community. If jobs

are in short supply and refugees are taking

what jobs there are, feelings of animosity

can arise. As emotions run high, violence

becomes likely.

Civil disturbances may be organized by

disaffected groups. These groups like to

embarrass the government. Or they may

demonstrate as a cover for terrorism.

Their goal is to cause an overreaction by

authorities. They think this will generate

sympathy for their cause among the

general population. Foreign nations may

promote civil disturbances through sur-

rogate organizations. The surrogates

involve themselves in activities that

promote a particular nation’s interests.

Their actions may be quite overt. Some-

times they even conduct fund-raising and

membership drives. The surrogate’s

sponsors provide support in many ways.

The sponsors give money, organizational

help, and moral support. They may also

help by training members of the surrogate

group in civil disobedience, vandalism,

and agitation and manipulation of crowds

and media. Agents of foreign nations may

influence civil disturbances. Agents infil-

trate disaffected groups to increase their

potential for violence. If they are successful

and government forces overreact, the

targeted government may be seen as

repressive.

Demonstrations of political grievances

range from simple protests of specific

issues to full-scale civil disobedience.

Many forms of political protest, while

disruptive, are not unlawful. These protests

may be spontaneous, but they generally

are planned events. They may even be

coordinated with local authorities. Most

protectors are law-abiding citizens. They

intend their protests to be nonviolent.

Violence occurs mainly when control forces

must try to contain a protest or arrest

protectors involved in civil disobedience.

The presence of agitators increases the

chance of violence. Agitators want to

provoke the control force into overreacting.

This embarrasses authorities. It can also

gain media and public sympathy for the

protectors.

Urban conflicts and community unrest

arise from highly emotional social and

economic issues. Economically deprived

inner-city residents may perceive them-

selves treated unjustly or ignored by the

people in power. Tension can build in a

community over a variety of issues. Com-

munity services and housing and labor

issues are often disputed. Tension creates

the potential for violence. When tension is

high, it takes only a minor incident or a

rumor of an injustice to ignite a civil

disturbance. This is particularly true if the

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law enforcement agencies for use during

enough resources of their own to minimize

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LOCATIONS

symbolic of a grievance, near the cause of a

grievance, or close at hand to an aggrieved

crowd. Examples of such places are nuclear

weapons facilities or power plants, in

urban areas, at refugee camps, or at

government facilities. Nuclear weapons

facilities and power plants are subject to

demonstrations by anti-nuclear activists.

These activists demonstrate at places they

know or think are used to develop, build,

transport, or store nuclear weapons or their

parts. The facilities can belong to federal

agencies or to businesses with DOD con-

tracts. Active involvement with nuclear

weapons is not necessary. Past involve-

ment or the activists’ belief of past

involvement can make the facilities targets

for demonstrations. Nuclear power plants

are also targets of environmentalists and

other activist groups. The plants are seen

as dangers to society and the environment.

Demonstrations at plants or plant con-

struction sites may be held to try to inter-

fere with plant operations.

US government facilities like recruiting

offices, federally-leased buildings, ROTC

buildings, and federal courthouses also

can be the targets of demonstrations. A

government facility may be targeted simply

because a protesting group attaches a

symbolic value to, or perceives a connection

with, a protested policy. This is especially

true of anti-war and anti-nuclear protest

groups. They may choose a facility because

they see it as the source of their grievance.

Or they may target a facility because the

people working there are seen as having

the power to address the group’s grievance.

Urban areas can be the scene of inner-

city conflicts, labor disputes, and political

struggles. Disturbances in urban areas

are usually fueled by aggrieved members

of the community. However, an urban area

having symbolic value to a particular

group may be the stage used by outside

demonstrators to draw attention to their

cause.

Refugee and resettlement camps can

become the focus of a civil disturbance.

Large numbers of refugees entering the US

in mass are often placed temporarily in

refugee camps until they can be resettled.

Resettlement can be a slow and difficult

process. The boredom, frustration, and

other stresses refugees experience in these

camps can create tensions that may erupt

into violence. And agitators may infiltrate

refugee camps to exploit these tensions in

ways that will embarrass the US.

Demonstrations at US government

facilities are not limited to those in the US.

US facilities in foreign nations can be

locations of civil disturbances. DOD instal-

lations, US embassies, and US consulates

in foreign nations are favorite targets of

demonstrators. DOD installations in

foreign nations are often scenes of protests

against US foreign policies. The actual

installation and its mission may or

may not be the true target. Often the

installation is just used as a highly visible

symbol of US government. American

embassies and consulates also are subject

to disturbances. They too are highly

visible, concrete representations of the US

government.

MISSION OF MILITARY FORCES IN A CIVIL DISTURBANCE

civil disturbance is to help local authorities

governments and law enforcement authori-

restore law and order. The preservation of

ties. The preservation of law and order

law and order in the civilian community

on the federal property of a military

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Civil disturbances may arise from a

The mission of the military forces in a

is the responsibility of state and local

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