Trump under pressure from Maga supporters to declare martial law in case of electoral defeat

A report about the request of some activists of the Maga movement to resort to extraordinary measures by Donald Trump, including the declaration of martial law in case of alleged manipulation of the election, has re-raised the debate about the powers of the American president.

Ambassador Arjan - International Group: The activists of the "MAGA" movement (MAGA) want Donald Trump, the President of the United States, to resort to extraordinary measures, including the declaration of martial law, if they believe that the mid-term elections are "manipulated".

This article continues: The importance of the issue: Some of these proposals go far beyond Trump's legal authority, and there is no evidence that the election is going to be rigged. However, the people making such proposals have close access to the president.

Tina Peters, one of the prominent figures active in the MAGA movement, which works in the field of elections, met with Trump this month. Peters, who was convicted in 2024 of crimes related to hacking election equipment, was released this year after Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Pulis commuted his sentence.

Peters and his lawyer, Peter Ticktin, also met with Trump at the White House in late June.

Peters did not respond to requests for comment.

In a September 30 video call with Maga movement activists and broadcast through the Rumble platform, the speakers warned of widespread election security breaches that they believe will occur in November and called for immediate countermeasures.

"If there is another rigged election, martial law should be declared," Ticktin, a childhood friend of Trump, said in the call.

He later told the Axios website: "They will probably need to take control of the ballots and election equipment to make sure we can get the full extent of the story before anything else happens."

Gregory Stenstrom, who testified in 2020 about allegations of voting irregularities in Pennsylvania, said he wanted the election suspended more than anything else because of security concerns.

In another option, he suggested that Trump implement the US National Emergency Act to force the states to change the way they hold elections.

Stenstrom could not be reached for comment.

Peters was also present in this call. Since August, he has been promoting his proposed plan online; A plan that calls for the use of hand-marked paper ballots and a manual recount of all votes cast in every precinct where it is possible to do so.

"His plan is to keep the paper ballots and have the votes recounted manually," Ticktin said.

In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, he also explained that the implementation of the plan would "eliminate any impact that the devices have."

The broadcast video call is one of the community's ongoing programs where people from all over America share their views.

Host Steve Stern encourages his viewers to sign up through the Republican Party to serve as poll workers and observers for the November election.

Stern declined an interview request.

"Emergency powers don't mean the president has a blank check to do whatever he wants," said Derek Teisler, legal counsel for the Brennan Center's Elections and Governance Program. "The president must still act within the framework of the constitution and laws approved by Congress."

He said these legal restrictions include the following:

Election time: Congress sets the date for federal elections. Trump cannot unilaterally postpone the midterm elections.

Ballot Counting and Voting Systems: States choose their own voting systems and decide how the votes are counted, subject to federal law. Trump can't mandate a nationwide manual recount or order the replacement of voting machines.

Emergency powers and martial law: Emergency powers do not allow Trump to override state election laws or constitutional restrictions. The declaration of martial law also does not authorize him to take control of election materials and equipment or to violate federal and state election laws.

Doubts and claims related to the 2020 elections are still raised in the Trump administration; including among the officials who are currently working in the field of election health and security.

Heather Haney, best known for denying the results of the 2020 elections in Pennsylvania and Arizona, is now the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Election Health and Security at the Department of Homeland Security and serves as Senior Advisor to the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

White House counsel Peter Navarro also continues to promote his special report on widespread fraud and electoral irregularities in the 2020 election.

A point to pay attention to

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said: "This election has not come suddenly and unexpectedly to the government. They have been in power for 21 months. "Now there are 20 days left until the elections and they have not done any of these actions."

White House spokesman Laurent Biss said in a statement: "Americans deserve a safe, secure and transparent election with full confidence in the results." President Trump believes that every legal vote must be counted, every election must be protected, and the American people must have full confidence in the integrity of the election."

The results of a poll by Associated Press and Nork Institute (AP-Nork) show that 71 percent of Americans do not approve of Donald Trump's actions towards Iran, and 69 percent believe that this war was not worth fighting.

The results of the Reuters/Ipsos poll show that the approval rate of Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has decreased to 32 percent and his support among Republicans has also dropped.

Donald Trump's new threats about the resumption of attacks on Iran, along with Tehran's claim of calling for an agreement and his consultation with the leaders of the six Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, have emphasized the question of whether the US military card is for another war or an increase in bargaining power in negotiations.