zlacker

>>fzeror+(OP)
I’m not seeing this discussed very much but Minnesota governor Tim Walz has issued an order to prepare the state’s National Guard:

> “To Minnesotans, on the National Guard, they’re there to protect you and protect your constitutional rights,” Walz said. “These are our neighbors. They don’t wear masks. They don’t bust in from somewhere else. They’re not here to cause hassles to you or what we saw today, the tragedy.”

It sounds like he is calling on the National Guard to protect against ICE? Is this the first time a state has done this? I personally think it’s the right move but this is a serious matter to have one law enforcement agency called out to protect against another law enforcement agency. If true, this is a very big deal.

edit: More about Walz’s statement:

> In addition to readying the state’s National Guard, the governor said the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the incident, where masked agents were recorded approaching a vehicle in the middle of a Minneapolis street and an agent then fired shots into the car after it accelerated. Walz also said he activated the State Emergency Operation Center and members of the State Patrol’s Mobile Response Team.

> “From here on, I have a very simple message: We do not need any further help from the federal government,” Walz said. “To Donald Trump and [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem, you’ve done enough.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5677541-walz-minnes...

>>baubin+rR
He's deploying the national guard because anyone with half a brain understands riots are likely. His reasoning has to not betray that though; even if he legitimately intends to use the NG to block ICE that's not the primary reason why he's sending them out right after the exact conditions are met that caused utter chaos in Minneapolis before.

It's just better politically to say "to stop ICE" rather than say "shit's looking like it could pop off and I need to be prepared either way."

>>mothba+HS
Yeah, I get the riot threat and I’m not suggesting that the National Guard is being called to stop ICE. But instead questioning what it means to have the guard come in to “protect” areas that are likely going to be where people are protesting against ICE. That pits the National Guard in opposition to ICE. Washington, DC just went through a version of this but different because it wasn’t the local National Guard and it wasn’t the local politicians calling them in. In either case, having one law enforcement agency occupying the same space as another without explicit coordination between them (and in this case where one is being called because of the actions of the other) is dicey and strikes me as meaningful and potentially dangerous escalation of the situation.