The governor of Minnesota and at least 12 others plus the District of Columbia have now activated the National Guard amid ongoing rioting and looting sweeping the nation triggered by the death earlier this week of a black man, George Floyd, while in police custody.
On Friday, Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, told reporters the guardsmen are only providing support to law enforcement and are not authorized to make any arrests under their rules of engagement.
As of early Sunday, the governors in at least 13 states — Minnesota, Nevada, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Utah, Ohio, Washington, Tennessee, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Colorado, and California — had activated the National Guard to help law enforcement officials quell protests that have erupted into riots in many cities.
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser also deployed National Guardsmen charged with protecting the nation’s capital to assist federal law enforcement officials with their response to protests outside the White House.
Although about half of the governors did not say how many National Guard troops they have mobilized, Breitbart News determined leaders from the other states have activated around 17,000.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz alone activated about 13,200, all of the state’s guardsmen, in case all of them were needed. By the end of Saturday, the Minnesota National Guard planned to have 3,200 guardsmen activated to provide support to Minneapolis law enforcement, noting that additional troops would be called upon in coming days.
“This represents the largest domestic deployment in the Minnesota’s National Guard’s 164-year history,” the state’s National Guard revealed via Twitter.
Gov. Walz indicated he would only use the National Guard after the Pentagon offered help, placing a small number of U.S. Army units on standby to deploy to Minneapolis if necessary.
Violence intensified during the protests on Saturday night into Sunday morning despite curfews and the presence of the National Guard in cities across America, including Seattle (200 troops), Atlanta (3,000), Los Angeles (500-700), and Louisville (350).
Several U.S. governors have also declared a state of emergency over the widespread rioting and looting.
Demonstrations began in the Twin Cities after the death of Floyd, an unarmed man, while in Minneapolis police custody on Monday. Protests have since spilled into several cities across the United States.
Floyd died after now-fired white police officer Derek Chauvin kneed his neck for several minutes. Authorities have charged Chauvin with murder and manslaughter.