In Support of U.S. Mayors

We the undersigned strongly protest the use of anonymous military forces for policing inside the U.S., and add our names in support of the letter sent on July 22 by 14 mayors of major U.S. cities asking for withdrawal of Federal forces. As the mayors say, “These are tactics we expect from authoritarian regimes, not our democracy.” As you are aware, the Posse Comitatus Act bars the use of U.S. military from domestic law enforcement, except when requested by state or territorial governors. Only once in the last 60 years, were thousands of military forces injected into civilian issues in the U.S., in that case to protect peaceful civil rights marchers in Alabama in 1965. Martin Luther King said then, “The end we seek is a society at peace with itself.” Far from welcoming the military, Portland mayor Wheeler was teargassed on July 23 while at the head of a demonstration against their presence. Operation Legend is opposed by the Albuquerque mayor and Senator Heinrich. This is not a society at peace with itself. We believe the presence of anonymous military exacerbates, rather than improving, the situation. We ask that you cease these needless and counterproductive actions.