[This column was reported for Political Breakdown, a bimonthly newsletter offering analysis and context on Bay Area and California political news. Click here to subscribe .]

It’s a threat President Trump has made before: He first publicly mused about using military troops to quell civilian protests in 2020, during his first term, when demonstrations roiled the nation after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd.

He didn’t send troops across the country, but did dispatch National Guard troops from 11 states to Washington, D.C., where they controversially helped clear protesters from Lafayette Square ahead of a presidential photo-op in front of a church. (An investigation later found that the park police and Guard members decided to disperse the crowd — using tear gas — independentl

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