[Chris2048]

"martial law against protestors" suggests violence against protest. What was actually suggested:

  an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers

If lawbreaker = protestors in your book, then maybe we differ in what constitutes valid protest.

Also, Cotton pre-emptively disagrees with your characterisation also:

  This [law] doesn’t amount to “martial law” or the end of democracy, as some excitable critics, ignorant of both the law and our history, have comically suggested

[amanaplanacanal]

I thought that’s what local police were already doing? An overwhelming show of force against peaceful protesters in an attempt to deter lawbreakers.