(The Center Square) – Gov. Mike DeWine’s decision to commit Ohio National Guard troops to President Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington, D.C., sparked protests over the weekend and has Democrats calling it political theater.
DeWine said 150 National Guard military police are expected to arrive in Washington, D.C., in the next few days. Troops from West Virginia and South Carolina are also being deployed.
“We have been asked by the secretary of the Army to send 150 military police from the Ohio National Guard to support the District of Columbia National Guard,” DeWine said. “These Ohio National Guard members will carry out presence patrols and serve as added security. None of these military police members are currently serving as law enforcement officers in the state of Ohio.”
House Minority Leader Dani Isaacohn, D-Cincinnati, said DeWine should be focused on Ohio, rather than responding to “the president’s most recent tweet storm.”
“Ohio’s National Guard exists to protect and serve Ohioans and other Americans in moments of true crisis,” Isaacohn said in a statement Monday. “When disasters like floods, storms, or community emergencies happen here at home, they’re there to rebuild. Their mission is helping Ohioans, not serving as props in a president’s political theatre. At a time when our state faces real challenges – from keeping our families safe, to rebuilding infrastructure, to responding when disaster strikes – every resource matters. Sending Ohio’s Guard to Washington for partisan stunts takes away from the work that truly matters to the people of this state.”
More than 50 people protested DeWine’s decision Sunday outside the Ohio Statehouse, some bringing up memories of the Ohio National Guard’s history at Kent State University.
In 1970, four Kent State students were killed by guard troops during a protest against the Vietnam War.
Trump last week declared Liberation Day in Washington, D.C., and appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi to take operational control of the city’s police department.
Bondi issued an order to replace Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith with Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole to serve as the agency’s “emergency police commissioner.” The Trump administration reversed course, however, and allowed Smith to remain in her position while directing District police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
