Britain came perilously close in the early-mid seventies when Labour was in power under Harold Wilson. Then, the threat was enough and taken seriously.

Were America to deteriorate much further as perhaps under an Obama-Biden cultural marxist, radical feminist government, a military coup might be a welcome hurricane.

And has been effectively rendered void by the fictitious interpretation of “except where under the control of local officials”. The wording, and the intent, are plain: Federal troops cannot be cops – it says nothing about who directs them.