John Kelly, Perhaps Illegally, Approved the Military’s Use of Lethal Force at the Border
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The next time that someone tells you that we will be saved from Trump’s authoritarianism by military leaders who will always disobey illegal orders, point to White House Chief of Staff, and former United States Marine Corps General, John Kelly. Per The Military Times:
The White House late Tuesday signed a memo allowing troops stationed at the border to engage in some law enforcement roles and use lethal force, if necessary — a move that legal experts have cautioned may run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act.
The new “cabinet order” was signed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, not President Donald Trump. It allows “Department of Defense military personnel” to “perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary” to protect border agents, including “a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention. and cursory search.”