Rep. Michael Waltz, a colonel in the National Guard, said Wednesday that states must deploy Guard troops to support police officers' work to keep order in the communities as protests continue nationwide.
"The problem is, many of these mayors and some governors are tying law enforcement's hands and not letting them do the job they need to do to restore law and order in this country," the Florida Republican said on Fox News' "Fox and Friends." Waltz added that President Donald Trump's message to the nation's governors and mayors is if they aren't "going to do the job, if you're not going to step up, he will and he will have to."
It's important that local leaders understand that the National Guards works for state governors and in support of law enforcement, and if deployed, it would be "much like our mission to support border security," said Waltz.
"They will deploy and support law enforcement to free up law enforcement with logistics, transportation and other tasks so that law enforcement can be out there on the front line," Waltz explained. "That's the way it should work."
Everyone supports the right to protest peacefully, said Waltz, but "this rioting, looting, and violence have got to stop one way or another."
He also shot back at people who think the Guard is made up of "warmongers" rather than from people from the nation's communities, or that they are not trained to fight riots.
"Many of these Guard units are military police units that actually normally do policing duties on bases," Waltz said. "They are absolutely trained for it. We also have civil affairs units. We train as a force for hurricanes, wildfires, natural disasters. It's an integral part of what the Guard trains for," Waltz said. "This is a huge stress on the force, but they will step up and do the job."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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