The U.S. Army has activated 400 unarmed members of the National Guard in order to “prevent any defacing or destruction” of monuments in Washington D.C.
“The District of Columbia National Guard is responding to a request to support law enforcement officials and has dispatched unarmed personnel, with others on stand-by,” National Guard Spokesman Major Robert Perino said.
“Activated Guardsmen are expected to provide security for local monuments and critical infrastructure,” Perino continued.
For the time being, much of the guard is on standby. Initial reports say that 100 troops are in the Washington, D.C. area while the rest remain in barracks.
In addition to deploying guard troops, members of the Trump administration have also notified U.S. Marshals that they may be called in to protect monuments as well. At this time, there is no word as to how many troops would be called in and where they’d be deployed.
With the end of the month nearing, protests following the death of George Floyd are nearing the one month mark.
