Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he doesn’t want the U.S. military sent to his state to quell any rioting because such help isn’t needed.
President Trump has threatened to deploy federal troops unless the nation’s governors and mayors control the violence that has plagued communities across the country, but Mr. Abbott said he won’t be asking the president to send in the 82nd Airborne Division.
“We know that Texans can take care of Texas,” he said during a press conference in Dallas.
The Texas Department of Public Safety — which is the state police department — has sent about 3,000 troopers around the state since the protests first began over the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during a Memorial Day.
“We have tremendous police forces in Dallas, in Fort Worth and in the surrounding suburbs and across the entire state,” Mr. Abbott said.
The Texas National Guard, which falls under his control when not in a federal status, has about 18,000 personnel. It’s among the largest such units in the country.
Mr. Abbott called Floyd’s death a “horrific act of police brutality” and said that people are rightfully angry over what happened to him.
But the violence and vandalism which has plagued the legitimate protests is not the answer, the Republican governor said.
“They are overshadowing the death of George Floyd,” he said of the rioters. “They drown out the voices of those who are seeking to protest peacefully.”
While Mr. Abbott said Texas is fully prepared to handle its own affairs and doesn’t need Washington’s help, there are two major Army posts in the state — Fort Hood in central Texas and Fort Bliss in El Paso — with large contingents of combat-ready troops.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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