WASHINGTON — QUESTION:
A flyer circulating online claims that Homeland Security is preparing to mobilize the National Guard and U.S. military to invoke a two-week quarantine, under something called the “Stafford Act” in an effort to “help prevent looters and rioters.” Is that information accurate?
ANSWER:
No. The Verify team debunked a similar message in March. The flyer, which now includes information about "looters and rioters," is still false.
SOURCES:
Letter from President Trump regarding the Stafford Act
Congressional Research Service- "Stafford Act Declarations 1953-2016: Trends, Analyses and Implications for Congress"
Stafford Act text
National Guard tweet
General Joseph Lengyel tweet
National Security Council tweet
PROCESS:
A flyer circulating online claims Homeland Security is preparing to mobilize the National Guard and the United States military to invoke a two-week quarantine, under something called the “Stafford Act," in order to "help prevent looters and rioters."
So we're verifying if the information in this flyer is accurate.
Our team debunked the information going around in this flyer back in March when coronavirus was declared a pandemic.
President Trump already invoked the Stafford Act back on March 13, 2020. The act only really deals with FEMA and how the federal government assists states and victims. It doesn’t grant the President explicit powers to quarantine the country.
When we first tackled this claim back in March, both the National Security Council and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau called the rumor fake.
Later that month, the National Guard tweeted the flyer with "FALSE" written across it in bold red font.
The Virginia National Guard and Minnesota National Guard have again recirculated the warning amid demonstrations.
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It is true that governors have activated the National Guard in multiple states and D.C. They are there to assist state and local law enforcement amid what they call “civil unrest operations.”
That’s on par with their official duties, according to their website. Governors can activate the National Guard during "local or state-wide emergencies such as storms, drought and civil disturbances." The President also has the power to activate them.
But again, there's no evidence that they're being activated to enforce a two-week quarantine.
So we can verify that this flyer is false, and continues to spread fake information.
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