All posts tagged "National Guard"

National Guard officials offered an explanation Friday after video of troops standing near a Washington, D.C., ballot drop box sparked alarm.

The troops, the officials say, were simply taking a break during a patrol.

Two Guard officials told The Washington Post that the soldiers filmed Thursday in Foggy Bottom were part of a larger patrol and were not assigned to guard the box. Both spoke on condition of anonymity....

A group of veterans is sounding the alarm on how much President Donald Trump has spent on a Washington, D.C., crackdown.

In a Wednesday piece, the Trump administration's spending to deploy National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., was flagged by Janessa Goldbeck, the CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, a veterans advocacy nonprofit. The Pentagon has already spent more than $700 million to deploy troops in the nation's capital since last August, and their continued deployment is expected to cost another $1.43 billion, Goldbeck wrote, citing estimates from the Pentagon comptroller nominee.

"Two billion dollars is a staggering sum to spend making the exceptional feel routine," Goldbeck wrote. "The people best positioned to see that damage coming are the ones who wore the uniform and meant the oath. That is why we are among the loudest sounding the alarm."...

A Tennessee pizzeria owner has refused to serve National Guard members and took a stand against the Trump administration, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

Miles Tamboli, owner of Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza, drew a line in early July: no more serving the National Guard troops the Trump administration sent into Memphis, a deployment the president claimed would drive down crime, according to The Guardian. He posted a video announcing the ban just days after troops killed two city residents, pushing the death toll to four since the initiative began in the city in September.

Since his public statement, he has faced death threats, and he and his family have temporarily relocated from their home....

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was booed and disrupted by protesters while speaking to National Guard members in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

Miller was speaking with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Nordhaus at Meridian Hill Park, where they were hosting a DC Safe & Beautiful Task Force Ceremony with about 200 National Guardsmen, according to CNN Pentagon reporter Haley Britzky.

Video footage captured Miller trying to speak over the sound of chanting and sirens....

The Trump administration was handed a big Supreme Court loss Tuesday over deploying National Guard troops in Chicago.

The High Court ruled that Trump and his administration lacked the authority to federalize and deploy the National Guard to enforce laws in Illinois.

“At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court wrote in the unsigned order.
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National Guard members have felt demoralized and that the mission has started to take a toll on them after the shooting last month in Washington, D.C., according to reports Friday.

National security reporter Haley Britzky told CNN's Boris Sanchez that the troops have expressed concerns after the shooting that left National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom dead and Andrew Wolfe seriously injured. Wolfe, who has been hospitalized, was reportedly showing signs of recovery this week.

Many of the troops were apparently brought on as junior service members. ...