U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to create a “small army to counter civil unrest across the United States,” according to The Washington Post, citing informed Pentagon sources.
According to these documents, rapid response forces would be stationed at two bases in Alabama and Arizona and equipped with weapons and anti-riot gear. A Pentagon official responded to the report, saying:
“The Department of Defense always considers potential scenarios, but we do not comment on leaked or undecided documents.”
Estimates suggest that maintaining this force on constant alert with military aircraft could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
This is not the first time Trump has used military forces to counter social protests. In the fall of 2020, he designated the Alabama and Arizona National Guard as national rapid response forces. More recently, he deployed thousands of National Guard troops and Marines in Los Angeles to respond to public protests—actions that continued even after the protests subsided, raising questions about their political motivation. Additionally, his administration has previously deployed 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to The Washington Post, Trump plans to rely on a specific legal provision for the new plan, which would bypass restrictions on the domestic use of the military.