Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has just declared a state of emergency and increased the deployment of National Guard troops by a hundred:
TMJ4 – Gov. Tony Evers has declared a state of emergency in Wisconsin amid increasing tense unrest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake last weekend.
Executive Order #86 signed by Evers directs state agencies to continue to assist the statewide response to protests as well as looting and vandalism in Wisconsin cities. The order also calls active-duty units of the Wisconsin National Guard to support local authorities as they attempt to protect infrastructure and businesses.
On Monday, Evers authorized 150 members of the Wisconsin National Guard to deploy to Kenosha County. On Tuesday, the governor announced that that number has been raised to 250 members of the Guard.
All of this sounds positive but I don’t think it’s enough, not after what we saw last night in Kenosha.
Also, Evers is still allowing ‘peaceful protests’ and forbidding law enforcement or the National Guard from impeding that:
Evers clarified in a release Tuesday that the National Guard may not be used to impede the ability of people to peacefully protest or impede the ability of the media to report on this situation. Any Guard members called to active duty may only be used to provide support to local law enforcement and to protect critical infrastructure and cultural institutions necessary for the well-being of the community.
I don’t have an issue with peaceful protests, but that’s how some of these violent protests start. These people are cloaking themselves as peaceful protesters and the next thing you know business are up in flames. What Evers needs to do is enact a curfew before dark, which should include ‘peaceful protests’, so that no one should be on the streets after dark. If they are, the National Guard and law enforcement should ‘impede’ them.
But hey I’d love to be wrong about this and if they can keep the peace with 100 more National Guard members, then more power to them. But I seriously have my doubts.