Are We Headed To Martial Law

Hitler was appointed German chancellor on January 30, 1933. He consolidated power in a few months using legal maneuvers. After the Reichstag Fire in February 1933 and the anti-communist hysteria that followed, German President von Hindenburg signed the Enabling Act which allowed Hitler and his cabinet to enact laws without the consent of the president or the Reichstag (parliament). This was done to “protect” the German people. We know the history: consolidation of power, suppression of civil rights, annexation of the Sudetenland, appeasement, World War II, the Holocaust, and then the division of Germany, Cold War.

On December 2, 1990, a newly unified Germany held its first federal national election. That was a special and memorable day in and of itself. Also, it was and is worth remembering that many voters that day from the new federal states of eastern Germany (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia) had not had the occasion to vote at all in a democratic, unrigged election after that fateful day in February 1933. If they had voted in a previous democratic election, they would have been almost 80 years old.

If you think it couldn’t happen here in the United States, think again. The current holder of the presidency of the United States has ordered California National Guard troops to quell unrest in Los Angeles without any coordination with the governor of California as is required in all but exceptional circumstances. This is the first time since 1965 that a president bypassed a governor in deploying the National Guard to a state.

Let’s be clear: Violence to achieve political ends is wrong and illegal, but officials at all levels are required to use legal and constitutional means to counter that violence. We are still a nation of laws. Will we see the administration invoke the Insurrection Act in the coming weeks and months? Will we see martial law declared? And most importantly, will we see free and fair elections continue as they have for over 200 years? Or will those of us who voted last year need to wait years before we can vote in a free and fair election?

Diane Blust retired after 25 years with the CIA. She spent 15 years in Western Europe as an operations officer. In retirement, Ms. Blust has volunteered with non-profit organizations dealing with sustainable development and local food issues. Ms. Blust is a member of The Steady State, a coalition of more than 250 former national security, intelligence, and diplomatic professionals.

Initially founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 270 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.