When Federal Soldiers Wear Your State Colors: The Quiet End of State Sovereignty

Redcoats in Camo, and Other Things That Should Freak You Out More Than They Do

First, a Little American Horror Story

The year was 1770. The streets of Boston were tense. British soldiers were standing shoulder-to-shoulder with loaded weapons, facing down civilians. And when someone shouted, and someone panicked, the soldiers fired. People died. The Crown called it “necessary.” The colonists called it tyranny.
The rest, as they say, was revolution.

Fast forward 250 years.

The uniforms have changed. The muskets got an upgrade. But the script? The script is starting to look eerily familiar. Only now we call it “public safety,” and most people don’t even flinch.

The National Guard: Home Team or Federal Cosplay?

Let’s talk about America’s favorite militia myth: that the National Guard is somehow the state’s private security detail. That if federal tyranny ever reared its ugly head, the Guard would protect its citizens, not point guns at them.

How adorable.

Because here’s what’s actually happening:
In Los Angeles—right now—the President has federalized the Guard. That means they’re still wearing state patches, but taking orders from Washington. Which is like your neighbor borrowing your dog and using it to bite you… while still insisting it’s technically your dog.

This is the political equivalent of an off-brand coup.
It’s legal. It’s coordinated. And it’s dressed in camo.

"But It’s All By the Book!"

(So was the Salem witch trial.)

Let’s get one thing straight: just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s good.
Jim Crow was legal. Japanese internment camps were legal. The My Lai massacre started with legal orders.

This new move—the preemptive federalization of a state’s own military force to suppress peaceful protest—isn’t a security measure.
It’s constitutional sleight of hand.
And if you blink, you’ll miss the trick.

Because the president didn’t invoke the Insurrection Act. He didn’t declare martial law. He didn’t have to.
He just took control. And the optics are so quiet, so clean, so lawful, you’d almost forget what you’re looking at.

Johnson Did It Too! (Yes, But He Had a Soul)

A quick history detour for the "this has happened before!" crowd:
Yes—President Lyndon Johnson federalized the National Guard in 1965.
But why? To protect Black Americans from white supremacists in Alabama.
That’s a federal power used in defense of justice.

What we’re seeing now? The mirror image.
Federal power used to suppress justice.

That’s not law enforcement. That’s intimidation with a bureaucratic smile.

And once it becomes normal, it becomes permanent.
Which is how democratic collapse usually works—not with a bang, but with a procedural shrug.

The Founders Warned Us—But We Were Too Busy Arguing on Facebook

You want Founding Father energy? Here it is:
The guys who wrote the Constitution were terrified of a standing army loyal to a powerful executive. That’s why they wrote that whole “well-regulated militia” thing in the Second Amendment. You know, the part people love to quote while ignoring its actual words.

The idea was that the people, through their states, would serve as a check on federal overreach.
But now, if the president can just take those forces, override the governor, and deploy them against protesters without a public reckoning?

Well then.

That militia ain’t well-regulated. It’s repurposed.
And the check has bounced.

This Isn’t About Left or Right—It’s About Down

If you think this only matters because it’s happening in California, I’ve got bad news:
Authoritarianism doesn’t care about geography.
Today it’s LA. Tomorrow it’s Austin. Or Tampa. Or that lovely little town you moved to so you could “get away from all that.”

It’s coming to a state near you.
And when it does, the soldiers will look like your sons and daughters.
But they won’t be taking your orders.

So here’s a gentle reminder to anyone still flying a Gadsden flag while cheering this on:

“Don’t tread on me” hits different when it’s your boot pressing down.

The Illusion That Might Kill a Republic

The most dangerous part?
It feels normal.

There’s no martial law. No dramatic speech. No tanks on Main Street.
Just federal orders, quiet compliance, and the sound of assumptions collapsing in silence.

We’ve built a system where the president can command state troops, ignore state governors, and deploy force domestically—all without invoking any formal emergency.
And because it’s wrapped in legality and dressed in familiar uniforms, we don’t call it what it is.

But let’s be clear.

It’s a seizure of state power. It’s the corrosion of local control. It’s authoritarianism with a smile.
And it’s happening right now.

Final Thought from the Ghost of Boston

Back in 1770, a handful of soldiers opened fire on civilians, and it sparked a revolution.
Today, our leaders have discovered they can use the military to control dissent, so long as they keep it orderly, legal, and clothed in patriotism.

The Redcoats aren’t coming.
They’re already here.
And they’re wearing our colors.

Further Reading: