3:25
- ABC News
- June 4, 2020
Backlash to Cotton op-ed: 'Send in the Troops'
The act was invoked in 1957 to enforce civil rights in Cotton’s home state.
3:25
While Cotton has acknowledged the rights of peaceful protesters and expressed sympathy for George Floyd's family, his strong views align with the president's, as he points to antifa and the need to do \"whatever it takes\" to restore order.
\"If local law enforcement is overwhelmed, if local politicians will not do their most basic job to protect our citizens, let's see how these anarchists respond when the 101st Airborne is on the other side of the street,\" Cotton said Monday on \"Fox and Friends.\"
Hours later, active-duty troops from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were staged outside Washington, D.C. Trump then made a statement suggesting potential use of the Insurrection Act -- with or without the approval of state authorities -- as police cleared protesters from Lafayette Park ahead of a photo op in front of St. John's Church.
\"If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,\" Trump said in the White House Rose Garden.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/tom-cotton-3-gty-jt-180106_hpEmbed_2_3x2_384.jpg\")
Cotton, an Army veteran who is running unopposed for reelection in November and has presidential aspirations of his own, also released a statement Tuesday condemning \"violent anarchists and insurrectionists [whom] were once again allowed to rule the streets last night in too many cities.\"
\"The only way to end this insurrection is the overwhelming display of force,\" Cotton said, citing increased violence on police amid protests.
Cotton was criticized on Monday for tweeting there should be \"no quarter for insurrectionists, anarchists, rioters, and looters.\"
Conservative attorney and Iraqi war veteran David French criticized Cotton for advocating \"no quarter\" and argued that it has been a war crime since Abraham Lincoln signed the Lieber Code in 1863.
A no quarter order is a war crime, prohibited even in actual insurrection since Abraham Lincoln's signed the Lieber Code in 1863. Such an order is banned by international law and would, if carried out, be murder under American law. https://t.co/YbSw1sM9KW https://t.co/OiNsRT7PPy
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 1, 2020
Cotton, a Harvard Law School graduate, rejected the criticism and posted a definition from the Collins Dictionary: \"Definition of 'no quarter': If you say that someone was given no quarter, you mean that they were not treated kindly by someone who had power or control over them.\"
The American Civil Liberties Union called Cotton's remarks \"irresponsible and dangerous\" and said they were likely to inflame an already tense situation nationwide.
No state governor has asked the president for the help of active-duty troops, although several Democrats were quick to reject the idea.
As active-duty troops remain staged outside the nation's capital Thursday, it was unclear if the president would invoke the Insurrection Act, as Cotton wants.
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