Why Ice Won’t Be at Polling Stations During the Midterms
Some laws are unclear. This one isn't.
Whoever, being an officer of the Army or Navy, or other person in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States, orders, brings, keeps, or has under his authority or control any troops or armed men at any place where a general or special election is held, unless such force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both; and be disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit, or trust under the United States.
This section shall not prevent any officer or member of the armed forces of the United States from exercising the right of suffrage in any election district to which he may belong, if otherwise qualified according to the laws of the State in which he offers to vote.
Welcome to 18 U.S. Code § 592 - Troops at polls.1
On Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the grifter in chief’s personal attorney who currently represents him in the Department Formerly Known as Justice, loosened his belt in front of fellow child predator protectors at the Conservative Political Action Conference and wistfully asked, presumably whilst unzipping his pants, “Why is there an objection to sending ICE to polling stations?”
The answer, of course, appears at the top of this page.
He knows it. We all know it. He’s bluffing, but many Americans who will be inclined to vote for Trump will not know it, and that’s the point.
The Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, for those of you blissfully not aware, has been one of the most mendacious yearly gatherings known to humanity for years.2
By the time Blanche was done speaking, he was probably presenting the full monty to his captive but eagerly receptive audience. After all, this is a group of Americans who are activists in the name of protecting a billion dollar child trafficking empire. Imagine that for a moment. Imagine being an activist for such a thing.
Imagine knowing that is the main agenda of the confab you’re attending as you walk into the hotel and begin your “business trip.”
“Dad, can you tell me more about the business trip you’re missing my soccer game for?”
“Well, sweet cakes, I am on the front lines in the battle for the rights of Americans to have sex with your friends. It’s an important strategy session.”
“Does mom know?”
“Of course, honey bunch. She’s a Republican Trad Wife.”
Yes, I digress, but it’s important that we always talk about those who continue to enable the predator in chief from the perspective that matters most, out of many awful ones. We can’t allow anything they do to help them escape this scrutiny.
I sometimes wonder if their initial blitzkrieg, when Musk arrived at the Oval Office with a chainsaw and a weird kid on top of his shoulders who dropped F bombs and said the orange sack of slime isn’t the real president, wasn’t part of a plan to deflect from the Epstein files from the beginning.
They hit us from all sides. Every day. Usually several times a day. They still do, of course, but the initial onslaught was truly shock and awful.
Much of what they do revolves around bullying and intimidation.
And that’s what this is. Blanche knows all about 18 U.S. Code § 592. He’s been involved in more federal lawsuits than Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has bar fights (a lot, methinks).
Unlike many U.S. statutes, this one doesn’t lack clarity. It requires no interpretation or reading between the lines. It says, quite clearly, that no armed federal personnel are allowed at polling places. Not even the John Roberts Supreme Court can look at the sentence fragment that states, “unless such force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States” and conclude that such a condition exists.
So if you’re part of the resistance, part of the great hope of America trying to end this regime, please, for the sake of protecting your kids, for the sake of everything you care about, do not spread the bullying propaganda Blanche wants you to repeat.
Do the opposite instead. Help your neighbor register if they’re disabled, infirm, or otherwise facing difficulty having their voice heard. Do whatever you can to help get out the vote. Even if you think Democrats are crooks or corporate panderers, too. We’ll deal with that later.
Be loud tomorrow at your local No Kings demonstration.
Maybe even draw up a sign that loudly states that you will vote.
I’m not sure we can wait until the midterms to end this regime, but I know, also, that time flies. Before we know it, the midterms will be upon us.
Be ready. Don’t let these nutwings push you around. Believe it or not, there’s a small chance to pull off a 2/3 majority in the House of Representatives.
The only requirement to make that happen is getting enough people to VOTE.
And that’s what they’re afraid of.
Thanks for reading!
Notes
h/t and special thanks to Cinda Williams Chima on Jay Kuo’s Subtack comment area for pointing me to this statute.
If you check out the top photo, you’ll see “TRUMP” emblazoned on the ICE goon’s uniform. This is in recognition of the simple fact that if the Grifter in Chief can add his pubey signature to American currency, he should add his name to ICE uniforms too. It only makes sense.
Footnotes
The statute can be found here:
Hartmann, Ray. “These Are the 12 Worst Moments in CPAC’s Decades of Depravity.” Raw Story, March 2023. https://www.rawstory.com/cpac-2659484734/.