By Anna Von Reitz
The Office of Marshal at Arms comes to us from the seagoing Office of the Master at Arms. At sea this is a militant and military office carrying a naval rating; the Master at Arms at sea acts as the Chief of Police on a boat, managing criminal investigations, ordering security measures and protocols, promoting the safety of the Good Ship, Captain, and Crew ---and making arrests when necessary.
The Master at Arms maintains the ship's brig, the ship's record of criminal and violent offenses and mutinies, plans countermeasures against terrorists and pirates, maintains the ship's contacts with the Judge Advocate General of the Navy and generally maintains the discipline of the ship for the Captain.
This Office came ashore early on in the form of the Sergeant of Arms, an elected Officer of each Congress who serves as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for that body.
In the context of the Congressional Sergeant of Arms Office, it's the duty of the Sergeant of Arms to maintain the safety and security of the Congress and the U.S. Capitol in general. Over the years there have come to be two (2) Congressional Sergeants at Arms, one for the Senate and one for the House; together they manage the Capitol Police Board which is responsible for the administration of the Capitol Police.
This gives you the history, flavor, and background for the Marshal of Arms Office in each State Assembly. There is one elected Marshal at Arms in each Assembly, and typically three or more Deputy Marshals at Arms.
Their duties include securing the safety of meeting places both physical and cyber, promoting and keeping order at meetings, conducting investigations as needed, upholding the rights and guarantees of members, planning countermeasures against terrorist attacks, keeping records related to criminal incidents, making arrests if necessary, training deputies, networking with the State Militia and Peacekeeping Task Force and Continental Marshals Service and local law enforcement officers as need be.
Marshals at Arms do not dictate to The State Assembly; each State Assembly is the Captain of the ship, figuratively speaking, and the Marshals at Arms are expected to serve and obey the Assembly directives.
There is one (1) elected Marshal at Arms for each General Assembly, but just as both the Senate and House have a Sergeant at Arms, it is traditional for the elected Marshal at Arms to provide Deputies to serve as the Marshal at Arms for the International Business Assembly and Jural Assembly, or for those Bodies to elect their own Marshal at Arms from within their membership.
This team of Marshals at Arms are overall responsible for working together to secure the safety and decorum of Assembly meetings and events, uphold the equal treatment and rights of all members, maintain records of all criminal incidents and reports thereof, and networking with the other peacekeeping forces: State Militia, Continental Marshals, and Peacekeeping Task Force, plus, if indicated, Court Bailiffs, County Sheriffs, and local law enforcement officers (LEOs).
The Marshal at Arms is an important position of trust within the Assembly and so, a Marshal at Arms who appears to fail that trust can be suspended immediately by a simple vote of no confidence by the body being served, pending investigation and presentation of the issues to the General Assembly which may then vote to maintain them in office or order new elections.
It is not the part or position of the Marshal at Arms to issue "laws" disguised as Standard Operations Procedures. Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) are military procedures manuals; they are administrative in nature and have no place in a civilian government outside the internal workings of the State Assembly Militia and the peacekeeping offices themselves.
In other words, it's fine for the Marshals at Arms to adopt SOPs for their own functions and also fine for the State Assembly Militias to establish SOPs to guide their functions and operations, but their use and utility is not to extend to the civilian functions of State Assemblies, such as the General Assembly, International Business Assembly, and Jural Assembly.
Although Jural Assemblies adopt Rules and Procedures governing a wide variety of circumstances and questions, these are not to be interpreted as Standard Operations Procedures.
Court Rules and Procedures are established for the use of the Public as well as the members of the Jural Assembly and Courts.
Standard Operations Procedures Manuals established for the use of the State Militia or Marshal at Arms or any other peacekeeping functionaries are meant to be internal documents guiding the standards, duties, and operations of their offices. These documents should be made available to the General Assembly upon demand, but are not intended for any generalized public purpose.
SOPs need to be officially adopted by the office or group using them, should be reviewed at least once a year for efficacy and amendment, and should be kept as simple as possible.
We are coming out of a highly compartmentalized and bureaucratic society that is regimented and rules-based and so, we have the habit of creating arbitrary rules and frameworks and ascribing power to these structures and rules we have made with our own hands or that we have inherited from others.
This has led to the people of this country, particularly those working in government functions, being burdened down by more than 80 million laws, regulations, codes and statutes --- and all the administrative cost and energy spent on the enforcement of this cancerous proliferation of "laws".
The promulgation and proliferation of rules and laws and regulations governing our activities may be what we are used to, but it is not a burden we want to drag with us into the future.
The fundamental laws of do no harm, honor your neighbor as yourself, fairness, and love must be our strongest bulwark of self-governance upon which all else depends, and without which all rules and SOPs, all codes, statutes, and regulations fail us.
Work together to promote a community of communities and a nation built of many nations, all bound together by a common destiny and common needs for peace, justice, and security of our rights and persons.
The Marshal at Arms is the one we turn to when someone shows up "drunk and disorderly" and needs to be removed from a meeting. He or she is the one we look to when some nutcase shows up with a gun or knife and takes a hostage or starts shooting. The Marshal at Arms is the first line of defense when a child goes missing at an Assembly picnic, an elderly woman has a stroke, or a busload of Assembly members is stalled on the highway.
They take charge of the situation, together with other members of our peacekeeping community, in the frontline effort to deliver the first and only true duty of the government: to protect us and our assets.
The perfect Marshal at Arms and Deputy Marshals at Arms are skilled marksmen, familiar with weapons, defense against weapons, and laws pertaining to weapons of all kinds; they are mentally and emotionally well-balanced and fair-minded and unbiased; they are trained in First Aid, CPR, and life-saving and are able to apply onsite triage; they are able observers and skilled investigators, always aware of the surroundings, potential threats, and hazards; they are able to write up reports and keep records of criminal incidents; they are personable and able to interact well with other peacekeepers as a vital part of our overall safety net.
The perfect Marshal at Arms respects everyone in the Assembly as an equal being owed the same rights and bearing the same responsibilities as everyone else.
We are, overall, justifiably proud of our Marshals at Arms, and we draw your attention to their position in your State Assembly so that everyone better understands the duties and functions of a Marshal at Arms and better appreciates their service.
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