The Insurrection Act was last invoked in 1992 by President George H. W. Bush to quell the Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King beating trial.

Key points:

• Purpose: The statute allows the president to deploy federal troops to suppress insurrection or to enforce federal/state laws when local authorities cannot maintain order.

• Recent context: There has been discussion in 2025 about potentially invoking the Act, but as of now it has not been invoked since 1992.

• Legal framework: It operates as an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally restricts federal military involvement in domestic law enforcement, requiring explicit authorization.

If you’d like, I can pull up concise, current sources summarizing the 1992 trigger and the exact sequence of events that led to federal troops being deployed in Los Angeles.