“The frogs (and unicorns and dinosaurs) will be defining ideographs of this period of struggle.”*

Posse Comitatus: A group of people who are mobilized by the sheriff

A 150-year-old United States Federal Law that:

• bars Federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement except when expressly authorized by law

• embodies an American tradition that sees military interference as a threat to democracy and personal liberty

• no constitutional exceptions

  
  

  That said, there are lots of loopholes as work arounds.

• History of the 1878 Act:

  
  

• passed after the end of Reconstruction and the return of white supremacists to political power in both southern states and Congress

• consists of one sentence ending with ". . .(Whoever) willfully uses any part of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, or the Space Force as a posse comitatus. . .shall be fined. . .or imprisoned not more than two years, or both"**

No Kings Day crowds everywhere outnumbered those Posses, including military-style police that showed up where I and my neighbors joined in. Since last winter, when I attended the first loosely organized gathering the numbers have grown exponentially from 50 to 3,000 who turned out in full frog and chicken and unicorn regalia!

*Lisa Corigan quote from heathercoxrichardson@substack.com

**brennancenter.org