The Pentagon is preparing a deployment of additional U.S. National Guard troops in more cities. This comes just days after President Donald Trump deployed the first set of troops to Washington, D.C., to the nation’s capital.
According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration is “evaluating plans” to create a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” that would deploy an additional crackdown on cities in the event of unrest or protests. This comes amid an unusual use of the national guard in cities that has extended beyond the norm.
“The Department of Defense is a planning organization and routinely reviews how the department would respond to a variety of contingencies across the globe,” a defense official told The Guardian in a statement. “We will not discuss these plans through leaked documents, pre-decisional or otherwise.”
According to documents obtained by The Post, the Pentagon is calling for at least 600 troops to be placed at military bases in Alabama and Arizona, enabling rapid deployment. If this happens, it could come with a hefty price tag for Americans. The Post reported that the documents revealed that it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Critics Respond To Trump’s Use of National Guard Deployment
The Trump administration’s plans are not coming without criticism, particularly from the ACLU.
“Sending armed troops into cities to suppress protests should be a non-starter in any healthy democracy, but especially in a country founded on a strong presumption against the military policing civilians,” Hina Shamsi, the director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, also told The Guardian.
Since the takeover, more than 100 have reportedly been arrested, according to White House officials. The dozens of people detained so far face charges that include firearms, drunk driving, warrant violations, and narcotics.
According to NewsNation, at least one person was charged with homicide, 24 guns were seized, and the administration alleges that 23 of those arrested were in the U.S. illegally.
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