Governors of 23 States Activate National Guard to Help With Rioting
(Worthy News) – The governors of 23 American states and the District of Columbia have activated 17,000 National Guard soldiers to help manage ongoing rioting in cities across the country, the Washington Examiner reported Monday. The US has been devastated by extreme – including deadly – violence, looting, and destruction of property since unarmed African American George Floyd was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police on May 25.
In a statement, Monday the US Defense Department said: “a historic 66,700 National Guard soldiers and airmen [have been] activated for domestic operations across the United States in support of their governors.” The Defense Department added that this number of activated guardsmen was even greater than the 51,000 who were activated in response of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The National Guard is made up of some 450,000 members nationwide, the Washington Examiner said. Local and state agencies must obtain their governor’s approval in requesting National Guard assistance. Under federal law, governors may call on the National Guard only in exceptional circumstances.
“We are here to protect life and property and preserve peace, order, and public safety,” Gen. Joseph Lengyel, the chief of the guard, said in a statement. Although guards cannot make arrests and work only to maintain order, they are accompanied by law enforcement officers who can detain suspects.
In a widely reported leaked account of a phone call on Monday, President Trump told governors to use their national guard to control the rioting.
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