(1-10-26) Here is the legal definition of “insurrection” in U.S. law.

Legal Definition (United States)

Under 18 U.S. Code § 2383, insurrection refers to:

Any person who incites, assists, or engages in a rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or its laws.

The statute provides that:

A person commits insurrection if they:

Incite (encourage or provoke), Assist, or Engage in a rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the U.S. government or its laws.

Legal consequences include:

Criminal penalties (fines and/or imprisonment), and Disqualification from holding public office under the United States.

Constitutional Context

The term also appears in the U.S. Constitution:

Article I, Section 8

Congress has the power to call forth the militia to:

“suppress Insurrections”

14th Amendment, Section 3

Disqualifies from office anyone who:

“engaged in insurrection or rebellion” after taking an oath to support the Constitution.

How courts generally understand it

U.S. courts treat insurrection as:

A concerted, forcible effort to prevent the execution of federal law or to overthrow or oppose the authority of the United States.

Key legal elements:

Use of force or violence Organized resistance Purpose of opposing lawful government authority

In Philadelphia

In Portland

In NYC

In Seattle

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Related : Are We Seeing The Signs Of Another Civil War?

The Insurrection Act of 1807 has been used multiple times throughout U.S. history, with sources generally agreeing it has been invoked around 30 times (including its predecessor laws from 1792 onward). It allows the president to deploy federal troops or federalize the National Guard to suppress insurrections, rebellions, domestic violence, or to enforce federal laws when local or state authorities cannot or will not.

Key Historical Contexts

The Act (or similar early statutes) has been invoked in a variety of situations:

• Early rebellions — Presidents like George Washington (Whiskey Rebellion, 1794, under precursor law) and John Adams used it against early challenges to federal authority.

• Slave rebellions and border disputes — Andrew Jackson invoked it in response to events like Nat Turner’s rebellion (1831).

• Civil War — Abraham Lincoln used it in 1861 to call up troops against the Confederate rebellion.

• Reconstruction era — Ulysses S. Grant invoked it multiple times (up to six) in the 1870s to combat Ku Klux Klan violence and protect Black civil rights.

• Labor disputes — Invoked several times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (e.g., by Grover Cleveland during the Pullman Strike in 1894) to intervene in strikes, often siding with employers.

• Civil rights era — Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower (1957, Little Rock school desegregation), John F. Kennedy (1962, University of Mississippi integration), and Lyndon B. Johnson (1967 Detroit riot, and others) used it to enforce desegregation and quell unrest, sometimes over state opposition.

Most Recent Use

The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked was in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush deployed federal troops to help suppress the Los Angeles riots following the acquittal of officers in the Rodney King beating. This was done at the request of California’s governor.

As of January 2026, it has not been invoked since 1992 — marking over 33 years without use, the longest such period in its history. There have been threats and considerations (e.g., during the 2020 George Floyd protests, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and various 2025 events), but none resulted in actual invocation.

This history shows the Act has been a rare but significant tool, often tied to major crises involving rebellion, civil rights enforcement, or overwhelming civil disorder.