“West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” Morrisey said in a statement.
The deployment is part of the effort by the Trump administration to address crime and homelessness.
Maj. Gen. James Seward, West Virginia’s adjutant general, stated that the state’s National Guard is “ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region and contribute to making the nation’s capital a cleaner and safer environment.”
Which other US states are deploying National Guard troops?
In addition to Morrissey, two other Republican governors are also sending their state’s National Guard troops to the nation’s capital to support Trump’s effort.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster authorized the deployment of 200 National Guardsmen from his state.
“Our National Guard will work to assist President Trump’s mission, and should a hurricane or natural disaster threaten our state, they can and will be immediately recalled home to respond,” McMaster wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that his state would deploy 150 military police. “None of these military police members are currently serving as law enforcement officers in the state of Ohio,” DeWine said in a statement.
Protests against Trump’s National Guard troops deployment
The announcements come as protesters pushed back on the increased presence of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington, DC.
In a letter to city residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, wrote that “our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.”
She called on Washington residents to stick together, “We will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy — even when we don’t have full access to it.”
On Monday, Trump put the metropolitan police department of Washington, DC, under federal control. He declared an emergency due to the “city government’s failure to maintain public order.”
“Crime is out of control in the District of Columbia. (…) The magnitude of the violent crime crisis places the District of Columbia among the most violent jurisdictions in the United States,” according to
However, on Friday, the Trump administration retracted its previous decision and agreed to let the Washington, DC police chief remain in charge of the police force after a federal court’s order.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
