Editing Posse Comitatus Act (section)

==Exceptions, exclusions, and limitations==
There are several situations in which the Act does not apply. These include:

* General criminal and criminal counterintelligence investigations, when there is a nexus to a particular military branch, conducted by civilian agents of certain independent military investigative agencies, such as: [[Air Force Office of Special Investigations]] (OSI), [[Naval Criminal Investigative Service]] (NCIS), [[United States Army Criminal Investigation Division]] (CID), and [[United States Army Counterintelligence]] (ACI). The Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) specifically states, "except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress" with the following Acts of Congress providing specific statutory law enforcement authorities to include:
** Under {{UnitedStatesCode|10|7377}}, civilian Special Agents of ACI and CID can execute and serve arrest and search warrants and likewise pertains to investigative activities associated with those authorities.
** Under {{UnitedStatesCode|10|8750}}, civilian Special Agents of NCIS can execute and serve arrest and search warrants and likewise pertains to investigative activities associated with those authorities.
** Under {{UnitedStatesCode|10|9377}}, civilian Special Agents of OSI can execute and serve arrest and search warrants and likewise pertains to investigative activities associated with those authorities.

* [[United States National Guard|National Guard]] units, [[state defense force]]s, and [[naval militia]]s<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cna.org/CNA_files/PDF/D0015586.A1.pdf#page=32 |title=The Naval Militia: A Neglected Asset? |last=Nofi |first=Albert A. |date=July 2007 |publisher=[[CNA (nonprofit)|CNA]] |access-date=19 February 2019 }}</ref> while under the authority of the [[Governor (United States)|governor of a state]]. However, when the National Guard is under federal control via {{UnitedStatesCode|10|12406}}, that shifts control from the state governor to the president, making National Guard operations subject to the Posse Comitatus Act as well. Finally, under {{USC|32|502}}(f), the president can use the National Guard while it is not federalized in a law enforcement capacity.

* Federal troops used in accordance to the [[Insurrection Act]], which has been [[List of invocations of the Insurrection Act|invoked 23 times]], {{as of|1992|lc=yes}}.

* Under {{UnitedStatesCode|18|831}}, the [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] may request that the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] provide emergency assistance if domestic law enforcement is inadequate to address specific types of threats involving the release of [[Special nuclear material|nuclear materials]], such as potential use of a [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]] or [[radiological weapon]]. Such assistance may be by any personnel under the authority of the Department of Defense, provided such assistance does not adversely affect U.S. military preparedness. The only exemption is the deployment of nuclear materials on the part of the United States Armed Forces.

* Under {{USC|10|282}}, the [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] may request assistance from the military in enforcement of laws regarding biological, chemical, or other weapons of mass destruction ({{USC|18|175a}}, {{USCSec|18|229E}}, and {{USCSec|18|2332e}}).

* Under {{USC|18|112}}, {{USCSec|18|1116}}, and {{USCSec|18|1201}}, the Attorney General may request that any other federal, state, or local agency, including the military, assist in the enforcement of laws protecting foreign diplomats and their families.

* Under {{USC|10|283}}, the military may assist in responding to terrorist bombings, particularly in terms of [[explosive ordnance disposal]].

* Under {{USC|10|284}}, the military may provide surveillance, intelligence gathering, observation, and equipment for domestic law enforcement on operations such as drug interdiction and counter-terrorism missions. For example, [[Delta Force]] soldiers from [[Fort Bragg]] were deployed upon request by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] to serve as sniper/observer teams, run communications, provide medical support, gather intelligence, and conduct assistance in explosive breaching during the 1987 [[Atlanta prison riots]].<ref>{{cite web|title= That Time Delta Force Got Called in to Sort out a Georgia Prison Riot |url=https://sofrep.com/news/time-delta-force-got-called-sort-georgia-prison-riot/| first= Jack |last= Murphy |publisher= | website= sofrep.com |date=June 28, 2016|access-date=June 12, 2020}}</ref>

===Exclusion applicable to U.S. Coast Guard===
{{See also|Missions of the United States Coast Guard}}

Although it is an armed service,<ref name=14USC101>{{Cite web|url=https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title14-section101&num=0&edition=prelim|title=Establishment of the Coast Guard|website=U.S. Code| date= |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives| access-date=May 28, 2023 }}</ref> the U.S. Coast Guard, which operates under the [[United States Department of Homeland Security]] during peacetime, is not restricted by the Posse Comitatus Act and has explicit authority to enforce federal law. This is true even when the Coast Guard operates as a service within the [[United States Navy]] during wartime.<ref name="CGLEDET" />

In December 1981, the [[Military Cooperation with Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies Act]] was enacted, clarifying permissible military assistance to domestic law enforcement agencies and the Coast Guard, especially in combating [[drug smuggling]] into the United States. Posse Comitatus clarifications emphasize supportive and technical assistance (such as the use of facilities, vessels, and aircraft, as well as intelligence support, technological aid, and surveillance) while generally prohibiting direct participation of U.S. military personnel in law enforcement (such as search, seizure, and arrests). For example, a U.S. Navy vessel may be used to track, follow, and stop a vessel suspected of drug smuggling, but Coast Guard [[Law Enforcement Detachments]] (LEDETs) embarked aboard the Navy vessel would perform the actual boarding and, if needed, arrest the suspect vessel's crew.<ref name="CGLEDET" />

===Advisory and support roles===
Federal troops have a long history of domestic roles, including occupying secessionist Southern states during Reconstruction and putting down major urban riots. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits using active duty personnel to "execute the laws"; however, there is disagreement over whether this language may apply to troops used in an advisory, support, disaster response, or other homeland defense role, as opposed to domestic law enforcement.<ref name="Military Law Review" />

On March 10, 2009, members of the [[Military Police Corps (United States)|U.S. Army Military Police Corps]] from [[Fort Rucker]] were deployed to [[Samson, Alabama]], in response to [[Geneva County shootings|a shooting spree]]. Samson officials confirmed that the soldiers assisted in traffic control and securing the crime scene. The [[governor of Alabama]] did not request military assistance, nor did President [[Barack Obama]] authorize their deployment. Subsequent investigation found that the Posse Comitatus Act was violated and several military members received "administrative actions".<ref>{{cite web| url= http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/10/army_reviews_shows_troop_use_i.html |title= Army reviews shows troop use in Samson killing spree violated federal law| work= [[The Birmingham News]]| publisher= | date= October 19, 2009| access-date= March 30, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA520027&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf |title= Revolutionizing Northern Command| website= dtic.mil| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20121002192218/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA520027&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf |archive-date=October 2, 2012 | first= Gary L.| last= McGinniss| url-status= dead | access-date= }}</ref>