Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) released the following statement on using the military to break up protests:

“Defense Secretary Esper is right that the military has no place breaking up protests on American streets.

“On Monday, President Trump said if governors refused to stop protests he would ‘deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.’ Secretary Esper today said he did not agree with that.

“Using the military to break up these protests would be illegal. Under the Insurrection Act of 1807, troops can only be used against American citizens when unlawful mobs make it impossible to enforce the law or protect peoples’ rights. These protests are clearly not an insurrection.

“Local and state authorities are fully capable of keeping peaceful protesters safe and preventing violence from occurring. This is not a job for the military.”