Washington D.C. Mayor: I Want States’ National Guards out of Here | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's note: This informational nugget was sent to me by Ben Shapiro, who represents the Daily Wire, and since this is one of the most topical news events, it should be published on BCN.

The author of this post is Hank Berrien.

    Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she wants out-of-state military troops gone from the city.

    "The very first thing is we want the military - we want troops from out-of-state out of Washington, D.C.," Bowser stated, as reported by CNN. She added that there were "federal military assets that we did not request that we understand are under direction of Attorney General (William) Barr."

    Bowser also promoted an open letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) sent to President Trump Thursday expressing "concern" about the "increased militarization" in response to the wave of riots sweeping the nation. Bowser tweeted Thursday: "Thank you [Speaker Pelosi] for standing with DC as we push back on uninvited military, out-of-state National Guard [and] unidentifiable federal officials amassing on our streets for the glorification of one man who sits afraid/alone If it can happen in DC, what jurisdiction is next?"

    Bowser has no authority over the D.C. National Guard. On Monday, the D.C. National Guard was activated and entered the White House complex with military trucks. Bowser stated, "When they pushed out onto a DC street, that is too far and that is what we push back on."

    By Thursday, over 4,500 National Guard Members, who had been requested by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, had been deployed to D.C. from various states including Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.

    Bowser has been at odds with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who stated that he had spoken with Mark Esper and notified Bowser's office, adding that Bowser did not object to the suggestion to call in the National Guard, as the Baltimore Sun reported. Bowser responded, "I have not talked to Governor Hogan," asserting, "If I wanted troops from Maryland to come into the district, we are a member of a compact, which allows me to make that request specifically to any state National Guard to do that. I have not done that for any state."

    Mike Ricci, a spokesman for Hogan, said on Thursday, "While the Mayor does not have the authority to approve or reject the mission, we conferred with her office prior to moving forward." The Baltimore Sun added, "About 1,300 Maryland National Guard members have been serving as part of the state's coronavirus response, performing tasks such as distributing free meals, helping run testing sites and distributing tests to nursing homes. They have not been deployed in relation to largely peaceful protests in Baltimore and elsewhere around the state, though Guard trucks have been used to transport city police officers."

    Utah GOP Senator Mike Lee responded to Bowser's statement that she wants out-of state troops out of the city by tweeting, "Just heard that Mayor Bowser is kicking the Utah National Guard out of all DC hotels tomorrow. More than 1200 troops from 10 states are being evicted. This is unacceptable. These brave men and women have risked their lives protecting DC for three days. Rioting, looting, arson, and vandalism have all disappeared bc these soldiers served. And now they are being kicked to the curb by an ungrateful mayor. This must be stopped."