Georgia is sending 300 soldiers and 16 support staff from the Georgia National Guard to Washington, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday.
The state’s National Guard members will assist the Trump administration in “in restoring public safety” in the nation’s capital, where Trump activated the D.C. National Guard in an attempt to address a “crime emergency,” even though crime in Washington is in at a 30-year low.
“Georgia is proud to stand with the Trump administration in its mission to ensure the security and beauty of our nation’s capital,” Kemp said in a statement.
Georgia House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley of Columbus in a statement criticized Kemp for sending the troops to Washington, calling the deployment an “unnecessary, unprecedented, and politically motivated” act that is unfair to service members and distracts from pressing issues within the state.
“The governor may believe Guardsmen to be political tools, but they are husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, employees, and leaders who are needed here in Georgia – not on Donald Trump’s political mission in D.C.,” Hugley said in a statement. “Law enforcement is a dangerous job, and it is even more dangerous when you haven’t been trained. National Guardsmen train for combat readiness and disaster response, not law enforcement. We should respect the service and sacrifice of these troops who signed up to protect the United States and the state of Georgia, not to advance a partisan political agenda.”
State Rep. Eric Bell, a Jonesboro Democrat who served in the U.S. Navy, criticized Kemp’s decision in a phone interview Friday and described it as a threat to American freedom and a return to feudalism. Rep. Eric Bell. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
“This isn’t the America that I was promised in social studies. This isn’t the America that I bought into as a veteran who defended this country. I’m all out of thoughts and prayers. Time for action.” Bell said, calling for people to stay united and vigilant against authoritarianism.
After Trump said that he may deploy troops to New Orleans, Bell said it’s “only a matter of time” before troops are deployed in Atlanta.
D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb sued the Trump administration Thursday over the ongoing presence of National Guard troops in Washington, arguing the deployment amounts to a military occupation and violates the district’s right to self-rule.
According to the state department of defense, up to 16 support staff from the Georgia Guard were sent this week to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling to serve as medical, physician assistant and military police support staff. A larger deployment of 300 Georgia Guard soldiers is scheduled to mobilize in mid-September, but the timing is subject to change.
The Georgia Guard is joining more than 2,200 National Guard members from seven other states to provide support to D.C. law enforcement. Louisiana, South Dakota, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and South Carolina have sent troops to the nation’s capital.
The troops, who may be armed, will have a visible presence in the city, with their specific duties determined by the needs of their law enforcement partners, according to a press release.
Kemp’s office stated that there are more than 14,000 soldiers in the Georgia National Guard and that the deployment “will not impact its ability to support the state in the event of an emergency.” But Bell said the Georgia’s National Guard should instead focus on local issues, such as helping those affected by recent storms and ensuring school safety rather than being deployed elsewhere.
“I think our National Guard needs to come home and to protect and not intimidate our students as they go to school, as they are witnesses to massacres across the nation, in the state, by right-leaning, conservative, typically MAGA-supporting individuals. We need our guards here, if anything,” Bell said.
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