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Constitutional questions emerge about expanding role of troops on US soil

Military Times: A new White House directive authorizing U.S. troops to engage in some law enforcement activities on American soil, potentially including the lethal use of force, is being sharply questioned by security and legal experts, who are raising concerns about both its underlying legality and the way the White House issued the controversial order.

The new White House memo authorizes Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to order “Department of Defense military personnel” to “perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the protection of federal personnel, including a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention and cursory search."

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