The Supreme Court ruled in Luther v. Borden (1849) that decisions about when states can request federal troops to suppress domestic violence are "political questions" beyond judicial review, leaving presidents and Congress with unchecked authority to determine when uprisings justify federal military intervention. This precedent remains in effect today despite concerns about executive overreach.
Article IV, Section 4 requires the United States to "protect each [state] against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence." The Framers added this clause after Shays'' Rebellion in 1786-1787, when Massachusetts farmers shut down state courts to protest debt collection, and Congress under the Articles of Confederation failed to raise federal troops from neighboring states. The clause uses "domestic violence" in its 18th-century meaning of "insurrection or unlawful force from within a country," not the modern sense of intimate partner violence. State governors or legislatures must request federal help, preventing Washington from deploying troops in states without invitation.