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The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States Federal Law () passed in 1878 after the end of Reconstruction . The Act was intended to prohibit Federal troops from supervising elections in former Confederate states. It generally prohibits Federal military personnel and units of the United States National Guard under Federal authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress . The Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act substantially limit the powers of the Federal government to use the military for law enforcement. The original act referred only to the United States Army . The Air Force was added in 1956 , and the Navy and the Marine Corps have been included by a regulation of the Department Of Defense . This law is often mentioned when it appears that the Department of Defense is interfering in domestic disturbances. LEGISLATION The relevant legislation is as follows: Sec. 1385. - Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus ::Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. EXCEPTIONS There are a number of exceptions to the act. These include:
HOMELAND SECURITY TITLE 6 CHAPTER 1 SUBCHAPTER VIII Part H Sec. 466. Congress finds the following: # Section 1385 of title 18 (commonly known as the Posse Comitatus Act) prohibits the use of the Armed Forces as a Posse Comitatus to execute the laws except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress. # Enacted in 1878, the Posse Comitatus Act was expressly intended to prevent United States Marshals , on their own initiative, from calling on the Army for assistance in enforcing Federal law. # The Posse Comitatus Act has served the Nation well in limiting the use of the Armed Forces to enforce the law. # Nevertheless, by its express terms, the Posse Comitatus Act is not a complete barrier to the use of the Armed Forces for a range of domestic purposes, including law enforcement functions, when the use of the Armed Forces is authorized by Act Of Congress or the President determines that the use of the Armed Forces is required to fulfill the President's obligations under the Constitution to respond promptly in Time Of War , Insurrection , or other serious emergency. # Existing laws, including Title 10, Chapter 15 (commonly known as The Insurrection Act ), and The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief And Emergency Assistance Act ( Title 42, Chapter 68 ), grant the President broad powers that may be invoked in the event of domestic emergencies, including an attack against the Nation using weapons of mass destruction, and these laws specifically authorize the President to use the Armed Forces to help restore public order. Sense of Congress Congress reaffirms the continued importance of section 1385 of title 18, and it is the sense of Congress that nothing in this chapter should be construed to alter the applicability of such section to any use of the Armed Forces as a posse comitatus to execute the laws. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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