Georgetown University Law School Report on US State Laws Barring Private Paramilitary Groups

Georgetown University’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) has produced a report outlining the constitutional and statutory provisions in each of the 50 American states relevant to paramilitary and private militia activity at political rallies.

Given the increased appearance of members of such armed extreme right movements on American streets to intimidate anti-racism protestors, and given the apparent encouragement of such groups by US President Trump in last night's presidential election debate when he called on the violent hate group Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by", remarks widely condemned as being supportive of the far right, the report is very valuable and disturbing:

"ICAP has categorized the relevant state laws into four groups: (1) constitutional provisions requiring the subordination of the military to civilian authorities; (2) statutes restricting unauthorized private militia activity; (3) anti-paramilitary-activity criminal laws; and (4) prohibitions on the false assumption of the uniform or duties of a peace officer or member of the military. The report describes these categories in more detail below and notes which states have statutes or constitutional provisions falling into each category. Following that summary is a chart listing each state’s relevant provisions, and finally each constitutional or statutory provision in full, organized by state. The chart also includes annotations of relevant case law."

"In gathering these laws in one place, ICAP hopes to bring to the attention of states and localities a fuller range of tools on which to draw in preparing for and responding to rallies and other public events that raise public safety concerns. This report does not purport to catalog the wide range of additional statutes that may limit, within constitutional bounds, the behavior of those who plan, attend, and protest at rallies and other public events. Nor does the report address statutes that restrict the possession of firearms or limit local regulation of firearms, which also may be relevant to such events. The report ICAP does not guarantee that the constitutional provisions and statutes included in this report exhaust the universe of state law applicable to paramilitary and private militia activity. To ensure accuracy, completeness, and the most up-to-date language, please consult official sources before relying on any of the statutes in this report."

ICAP has also produced fact sheets for all 50 states "explaining the laws barring unauthorized private militia groups and what to do if groups of armed individuals are near a polling place or voter registration drive."

Each fact sheet comes with a table or checklist on how US voters can recognize the presence of armed militias at voting stations. 

The fact that US citizens need to be educated about this is a truly scary situation:

ICAP put together the documentation with the pro bono assistance of law firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Jones Day, and O’Melveny & Myers.