Mayor Says National Guard Will Be Deployed in LA

Newsom declares state of emergency
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 31, 2020 1:57 AM CDT
Mayor Says National Guard Will Be Deployed in LA
A woman holds a sign during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Los Angeles, Saturday, May 30, 2020.   (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The mayor of Los Angeles says National Guard troops are being sent in to the nation's second-largest city after a fourth day of violent protests Saturday saw demonstrators clash repeatedly with officers, torch police vehicles, and ransack businesses. Mayor Eric Garcetti says he asked Gov. Gavin Newsom for 500 to 700 members of the Guard to assist the 10,000 LAPD officers. "The California National Guard is being deployed to Los Angeles overnight to support our local response to maintain peace and safety on the streets of our city," says the mayor, who ordered a rare citywide curfew until Sunday morning. Gov, Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County, NBC Los Angeles reports.

Community leaders denounced the violence that has accompanied protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, the AP reports. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said she lived through two previous seminal LA race riots—Watts in 1965 and 1992 following the acquittal of police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King—and remembers the pain the city endured. "We must stand in solidarity against the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of law enforcement," she said. "But please don’t destroy our beloved Los Angeles. This is not a protest anymore." Texas has also activated the National Guard and deployed troopers to cities including Houston, Dallas, and Austin.

(More Los Angeles stories.)

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