By Brian VanDeMark
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has expressed his intention, if elected to a second term, to use the U.S. armed forces to suppress domestic protests. The New York Times reports that Trump’s allies are marshaling legal arguments to justify using National Guard or active-duty military troops for crowd control.
Moreover, as the Times notes, Trump has asserted that if he returns to the White House, he will dispatch such forces without waiting for state or local officials to request such assistance.
I am a historian who has written several books about the Vietnam War, one of the most divisive episodes in our nation’s past. My new book, “Kent State: An American Tragedy,” examines a historic clash on May 4, 1970, between anti-war protesters and National Guard troops at Kent State University in Ohio.
The confrontation escalated into violence: Troops opened fire on the demonstrators, killing four students and wounding nine others, including one who was paralyzed for life.
In my view, the prospect of dispatching troops in the way that Trump proposes chillingly echoes actions that led up to the Kent State shootings. Some active-duty units, as well as National Guard troops, are trained today to respond to riots and violent protests – but their primary mission is still to fight, kill, and win wars.
Federalizing the Guard
The National Guard is a force of state militias under the command of governors. It can be federalized by the president during times of national emergency or for deployment on combat missions overseas. Guardsmen train for one weekend per month and two weeks every summer.
Typically, the Guard has been deployed to deal with natural disasters and support local police responses to urban unrest, such as riots in Detroit in 1967, Washington in 1968, Los Angeles in 1965 and 1992, and Minneapolis and other cities in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.
The 1807 Insurrection Act grants presidents authority to use active-duty troops or National Guard forces to restore order within the United States. However, presidents rarely deploy Guard troops without state governors’ consent.
The main modern exceptions occurred during the Civil Rights Movement, when Southern governors resisted federal orders to desegregate schools in Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. In each case, the troops were sent to protect Black students from crowds of white protesters.
The standoff at Kent State
The war in Vietnam had grown increasingly unpopular by early 1970, but protests intensified on April 30 when President Richard Nixon authorized expanding the conflict into Cambodia. At Kent State, after a noontime anti-war rally on campus on May 1, alcohol-fueled students harassed passing motorists in town and smashed storefront windows that night. On May 2, anti-war protesters set fire to the building where military officers trained Kent State students enrolled in the armed forces’ Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
In response, Republican Gov. Jim Rhodes dispatched National Guard troops, against the advice of university and many local officials, who understood the mood in the town of Kent and on campus far better than Rhodes did. County prosecutor Ron Kane had vehemently warned Rhodes that deploying the National Guard could spark conflict and lead to fatalities.
Nonetheless, Rhodes – who was trailing in an impending Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat – struck the pose of a take-charge leader who wasn’t going to be pushed around by a long-haired rabble. “We’re going to put a stop to this!” he shouted, pounding the table at a press conference in Kent on May 3.
Hundreds of National Guard troops were deployed across town and on campus. University officials announced that further rallies were banned. Nonetheless, on May 4, some 2,000 to 3,000 students gathered on the campus Commons for another anti-war rally. They were met by 96 National Guardsmen, led by eight officers.
There was an edge of confrontation in the air as student anger over Nixon’s expansion of the war blended with resentment over the Guard’s presence. Protesters chanted antiwar slogans, shouted epithets at the Guardsmen and made obscene gestures.
‘Fire in the air!’
The Guardsmen sent to Kent State had no training in de-escalating tension or minimizing the use of force. Nonetheless, their commanding officer that day, Ohio Army National Guard Assistant Adjutant General Robert Canterbury, decided to use them to break up what the Department of Justice later deemed a legal assembly.
In my view, it was a reckless judgment that inflamed an already volatile situation. Students started showering the greatly outnumbered Guardsmen with rocks and other objects. In violation of Ohio Army National Guard regulations, Canterbury neglected to warn the students that the Guardsmens’ rifles were loaded with live ammunition.
As tension mounted, Canterbury failed to adequately supervise his increasingly fearful troops – a cardinal responsibility of the commanding officer on the scene. This fundamental failure of leadership increased confusion and resulted in a breakdown of fire control discipline – officers’ responsibility to maintain tight control over their troops’ discharge of weapons.
When protesters neared the Guardsmen, platoon sergeant Mathew McManus shouted “Fire in the air!” in a desperate attempt to prevent bloodshed. McManus intended for troops to shoot above the students’ heads to warn them off. But some Guardsmen, wearing gas masks that made it hard to hear amid the noise and confusion, only heard or reacted to the first word of McManus’ order, and fired at the students.
The troops had not been trained to fire warning shots, which was contrary to National Guard regulations. And McManus had no authority to issue an order to fire if officers were nearby, as they were.
Many National Guardsmen who were at Kent State on May 4 later questioned why they had been deployed there. “Loaded rifles and fixed bayonets are pretty harsh solutions for students exercising free speech on an American campus,” one of them told an oral history interviewer. Another plaintively asked me in a 2023 interview, “Why would you put soldiers trained to kill on a university campus to serve a police function?”
A fighting force
National Guard equipment and training have improved significantly in the decades since Kent State. But Guardsmen are still troops who are fundamentally trained to fight, not to control crowds. In 2020, then-National Guard Bureau Chief General Joseph Lengyel told reporters that “the civil unrest mission is one of the most difficult and dangerous missions … in our domestic portfolio.”
In my view, the tragedy of Kent State shows how critical it is for authorities to be thoughtful in responding to protests, and extremely cautious in deploying military troops to deal with them. Force is inherently unpredictable, often uncontrollable, and can lead to fatal mistakes and lasting human suffering. And while protests sometimes break rules, they may not be disruptive or harmful enough to merit responding with force.
Aggressive displays of force often heighten tensions and worsen situations. Conversely, research shows that if protesters perceive authorities are behaving with restraint and treating them with respect, they are more likely to remain nonviolent. The shooting at Kent State demonstrates why force should be an absolute last resort in dealing with protests – and one fraught with grave risks.
Brian VanDeMark is Professor of History at the United States Naval Academy.
The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena. Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion. The Conversation seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone. The Conversation publishes nightly at 9 p.m. on FlaglerLive.
Sinan Wiese says
“Four Dead in Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Will we have version 2.0? If Trump has Generals like Hitler did, which Trump says he wishes he had, they would do anything to please their Feurer.
Al says
Another liberal trying to distort everything. He said deploy troops to fight cartel takeovers like the one in Colorado. The other part wasn’t about peaceful protest it was about destructive rioting. I guess as long as it’s not your house riots are peaceful. I hope they come to your neighborhood soon.
JimboXYZ says
Exactly, Martha’s Vineyard won’t ever have that level of takeover or even protests. It took them all of 24-48 hours to deport a busload of 50 immigrants delivered by bus for a better life. There was no plan of ever seamlessly integrating the border crisis in Martha’s Vineyard. I doubt any of the immigrants have moved in next door to Joe Biden or Kamala Harris in their residential(s), never will be Makes you wonder where the Martha’s Vineyard immigrant relocation program sent those dreamers.
Deborah Coffey says
What did he do about the destructive, murderous rioting at the Capitol on January 6th? Nothing, Nada, Zip…because they were his Nazis do his bidding. You guys need to get your stories straight. And, he DID NOT say deploy troops to fight only cartels but to destroy the enemies within. I watched him say it! That would be me and tens of millions like me. We know a Hitler clone when we see one.
JimboXYZ says
Most college students are adults, granted some are 1st year out of HS as minors => adults, but still 18+ year old adults with voting rights at the very least. Kent State was a different war, it was a Vietnam War protest. What went on under Biden-Harris is a Palestinian-Isreali Gaza protest. The 2 being wars are very different protests really. Kent State was about US Troops as skin in the game. Trump professes to be able to end the war, even get a meaningful cease fire in 24-48 hours. 10 months of Biden Harris in 2024 and we see how that’s going for not happening. Trump even has said he could get something more meaningful before being sworn in for both the Ukraine & Gaza Wars, should he win the election. Would National Guard have prevented J6 ? If one thinks that Trump should’ve deployed National Guard that Pelosi is on video taking accountability & responsibility for not securing for J6 ? Then having adequate crowd control for campus protests doesn’t seem like Kent State if there is rubber bullets & not live ammo on campuses ? This isn’t an Alec Baldwin “Rust” movie set ? End of the day, for the Gaza War to end, someone has to start ending what continues to be skirmishes of protests everywhere else but where the war actually is being fought.
Just me, I think Trump’s plan is to cut off Iran again, something Biden-Harris hasn’t & won’t do. When Biden sends billions in funds to Iran on 9/11 2023 anniversary date, that’s a play out of Obama-Biden flying cash to Iran. That does nothing to punish Iran’s hand in funding Hamas. End of the day, Obama-Biden-Harris has done nothing but reward Iran & Hamas and the results are obvious, Israel is attacked. Part of what kept a relative peace in the Gaza was what Biden reversed from Trump’s 4 years for executive orders. We are where we are and it’s the Democrats policies that got us here, certainly not Trump. Biden made sure of that 24-48 hours of executive orders rescinded to erase what Trump had accomplished. How anyone can vote for Biden-Harris-Walz, the blood of the Gaza is their hand in it for funding Iran. And I wouldn’t doubt as we watch Obama stump for Harris 10 days before election day, his hands are involved in some capacity ? I have a gut feeling that we will learn Obama is the one counseling both Biden & Harris the last 4 years as a part of the united Democrat party, leadership by committee ? It’s strange/weird that Harris calls out Trump for placating & cozying up to the Axis of Evil, yet that’s exactly what Obama-Biden-Harris-Walz has done.
I guess what Trump is doing is starting small with US University protests, but someone has to try something, because what Biden-Harris-Walz has done, hasn’t & won’t work towards ending any war. Imagine if Trump-Vance does what Biden-Harris couldn’t get done ?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-administration-acknowledges-1-7-billion-transfer-to-iran-was-all-cash/
Jim says
So you’re saying that to make a start towards ending the war in Gaza deploying troops on college campuses is a start?
I would hope that all Americans would want troop deployment anywhere in the USA to be a last resort. You, however, think deploying troops on a college campus will help end a war in the Middle East.
Thank God you have as little authority as you do intellect.
If you had any common sense you’d be ashamed.
Laurel says
I stopped reading Jimboxyz’s stuff a while ago.
Deborah Coffey says
So many lies (I counted 9) in your comment, no one even knows where to begin. Do you EVER get FACTS? Ever? It’s so easy to Google and fact-check. But, you blindly believe every lying word Donald Trump utters. You do know that it’s a fact that Donald Trump caused the greatest recession since The Great Depression in the Spring of 2020. Go ahead…fact check it.
Kennan says
Listen man. I don’t like the way Biden Harris have handled the situation in Gaza at all, But don’t think for a minute that Trump wouldn’t have just nuked the entire Middle East without batting an eyelash. He would’ve performed even more fellatio on Benjamin Netanyahu than Biden. Let me remind you Vietnam was a war. Yes it was, under false pretenses and a lot of pushback by students. Students today are protesting a full blown genocide. Ethnic cleansing in real time. A holocaust for the 21st century with a 21st century new cycle. You can’t escape it.
Please don’t say for a moment that Trump would’ve come up with a cease-fire in 24 to 48 hours. You know that’s bullshit. He would’ve done the same thing that Biden was doing, Which would’ve been whatever Netanyahu wanted him to do. The only difference is that it would’ve probably been more depraved than what we’re doing now if you can even imagine that.
Sorry, man, but I take this real personal. Get your head straight.
Justsayin says
I noticed the article did not say anything about the January 6th riot where a capital police officer shot and killed a unarmed woman. The same officer was disciplined just prior to that for leaving his service weapon on the toilet when he left the bathroom. Then to top it off, he was interviewed by NBC News as some kind of hero.
Jim says
Did you notice that the unarmed woman shot and killed was warned multiple times that lethal force would be used if anyone tried to enter the chambers? Did you notice that she was trying to enter through a barricaded area?
That officer acted appropriately in his duty.
Hey fun fact for you to check out: After the “love feast” at the capital that day, Lindsey Graham said more rioters should have been shot.
Deborah Coffey says
That dead woman was breaking and entering. As I watched, I was wondering why the Capitol police didn’t open fire on all of the insurrectionists. Didn’t you watch them attack and injure over 140 police?
feddy says
Insert any George Floyd protest rioters and take out insurrectionists.
Laurel says
feddy: No, I don’t think so. George Floyd was murdered right in front of a crowd of people, over a $20 bill he could have gotten anywhere. That should upset anyone. That’s a whole different thing from a President who falsely claimed to win the election, told people to go to support him as “it will be wild” and told the crowd to march to the Capital and “fight like hell or you won’t have a country.”
These two events have nothing in common, other than crimes were committed. One of murder, and one insighting a riot to try to overthrow the government.
Deport republicons says
Scary when you have people like little ron banning protests and protesting. Also criminalizing it along with poverty. The modern republicans are true fascists that want to quell any opposing views; so much for freedum.
Pogo says
@3 of the first 4 commenters prefer
…to live in a military dictatorship.
Time will tell if they wanted what they got — if they get it.
I smell blood and an era of prominent madmen.
— W.H. Auden
https://www.google.com/search?q=W.H.+Auden
Jim says
Here’s how it will play out if Trump is elected: First we’ll see massive changes in the military leadership in the JOC and Pentagon. Trump will install generals loyal to him. Then if/when any citizens protest against his policies the military will be deployed and there will be bloodshed. Afterward Trump’s people will say the protesters started it,were armed and got what they deserved. All the Trumpers will cheer and the end of this democracy will begin.
The saddest part of this scenario is how many Americans are cheering for it.
jackson says
From the standpoint of reality and truth, it is utterly baffling, WHY so many people are ardent worshipers of the most uniquely odious and repugnant man to EVER infest and pollute American political culture. But here’s the key to his “appeal” to these people:
They don’t worship Trump in spite of his grotesque character flaws; They worship him BECAUSE of his grotesque degeneracy. At the core of it all is Trump’s malignant bigotry. The people in the MAGA cult are hard-wired bigots, always have been and always will be. And Trump, by his own example, has “legitimized” their bigotry.
These people absolutely can’t stand the FACT that American society inevitably continues to evolve and diversify. They seethe with anger over the fact that we are a multi-racial and multi-ethnic society. And they are absolutely livid about the fact that they have to share this planet and this country with those “other” people. It fills these people with rage that that other people who don’t look, think, and act exactly as they do, ALSO have legal and civil rights. They feel that THEY, and ONLY THEY are entitled to the spoils of full citizenship, and everyone else is a sub-human class who basically have no right to even exist.
This is why Trump is so popular with the people in his cult. Trump represents their beliefs EXACTLY. You can’t shame them into showing some decency or inclusiveness. For them, the hatred and the cruelty are the ENTIRE point!
Pogo says
@jackson
Agree 100%
But, I believe a large part of the people behaving like troglodytes, are having a “Samson Moment” (see Book of Judges, Old Testament) as a backlash against political correctness, e.g., inventions, like microaggression, and the like. They’re beyond fed up with the pettifogging of too sensitive to live Ivey Tower graduate students, et. al., and their cancel culture police.
The pendulum swings, we’re told — so does the headsman’s axe…
MyMaster says
If Trump has the massive deportation that he is threatening he will need a large percentage of the military in order to accomplish it. He won’t be able to effect such a deportation unless he wants severe economic consequences. Not only will it cost Billions to do but it will also create a labor shortage; something he surely hasn’t thought of. Immigrants over the last three years have an increased percentage of the workforce than native born Americans.
Sherry says
Excellent comment Jackson! Here is just a tiny example. . . this from the “credible news agency” Associated Press: With just over a week before Election Day, speakers labeled Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” called Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris “the devil,” and said the woman vying to become the first woman and Black woman president had begun her career as a prostitute.
Sherry says
maga humor:
Latinos “love making babies. There’s no pulling out. They come inside, just like they do to our country,” Hinchcliffe said to laughter inside the arena. He added: “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
“Think” about this BEFORE you vote!
Kennan says
Thank you, Sherry!!!
Laurel says
“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming
We’re finally on our own
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio
Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?”
— Neil Young
I remember this time very well, I was 18 years old, the same age as most of those kids protesting on campus. It was a terrible blemish on our country, and it effected us very strongly. Americans were shocked and horrified at the possibility such a deliberate disaster could happen here. We hadn’t seen anything close since the assault on African Americans trying to get civil rights.
What Trump is proposing is civil war. He would be asking military soldiers to turn on their own neighbors, family and friends! What a horrible thing to suggest! The man has no empathy whatsoever. Nobody’s home. When he pushed his way through a crowd for a photo op with a bible, in front of a church, he asked if the protesters could be shot in the legs. I’m not so sure the military would go along with it, and question the legality, authoritarian or not. But the idea is disgusting. Perhaps he would start his own Brown Shirts.
As it is now, those who Trump disagrees with, or he doesn’t like, they have been threatened by strangers. Some have been attacked. Some lives have been ruined. Many family members have been threatened. They have received death threats for simply stating what they believe. That is completely unacceptable.
So, if you vote for Trump/Vance, and blood is in the streets, it’s on you. Wear it.