Washington, D.C. – In response to news that additional National Guard troops will be sent to our nation’s capital from Ohio, West Virginia, and South Carolina as part of President Trump’s efforts to expand federal control over law enforcement in Washington, D.C., People For the American Way President Svante Myrick released the following statement:
“There is no justification for President Trump expanding his military occupation of Washington, D.C. There is no justification for governors to send National Guard troops into the streets of our national capital. We are not at war. There is no emergency that justifies these extreme measures.
These are illegitimate actions by a dictatorial ruler who wants to tighten his control over Americans by intimidating and silencing dissenters.
And they are the exploits of an unpopular president desperate to distract Americans from the harm his reckless policies are causing—and from his ongoing refusal to release all the information under his control that the public has a right to see about the notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.”
Additional context on recent National Guard troop deployments in Washington, D.C. can be found in Svante Myrick’s recent op-ed for The Hill titled, “Trump unleashes troops on cities already making progress on crime.”
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About Us
People For the American Way is a national progressive advocacy organization that inspires and mobilizes Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. For more than four decades, we have been dedicated to making the promise of America real for everyone and have worked toward a vision of a vibrant America where basic rights and freedoms are upheld for all, not just the wealthy and the powerful. Learn more: http://www.peoplefor.org