Virginia refuses to send national guard troops to DC after Trump threats

2 June 2020, 7:23 pm

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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has rejected a request from US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to send 3,000 to 5,000 of the state’s national guard to Washington, DC, as part of a massive show of force organized by the Trump administration in response to violent protests, according to Northam’s chief of staff, Clark Mercer.

Mercer says Trump’s comments to governors in a phone call Monday, in which the president said most governors were “weak” and needed to “dominate” the streets, played a role in the decision.

“The president’s remarks to the governors heightened our concerns about how the guard would be used,” he says.

— AP