On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a freedom of information (FOIA) request to the U.S. government over “reports that an active military unit has been deployed inside the U.S. to help with ‘civil unrest’ and ‘crowd control’ – matters traditionally handled by civilian authorities.” As MnIndy has reported, the Army’s Consequence Management Response Force (CCMRF) went on call October 1 to respond to natural disasters or terrorist attacks. (It’s unclear whether troops have technically been “deployed.”)

In a nine-page FOIA request (pdf), the ACLU states that CCMRF’s new role — “the first time an active military unit has been given a dedicated assignment to Northern Command” — “raises important questions about the longstanding separation between civilian and military government within the United States.” It cites the Posse Comitatus Act and states “the deployment raises concerns about the possibliity that the program may be used to facilitate domestic surveillance by the Defense Department.”

The FOIA request asks for records pertaining to the decision to deploy the unit within the U.S., including documents about the legal justification for doing so and discussions about possible uses of such units.