Kemp to Deploy 1,000 National Guard Troops After Violent Weekend

07/07/2020 Business, Sports, World


Gov. Brian Kemp will deploy up to 1,000 Georgia National Guard troops to protect state buildings in Atlanta on Monday after an outbreak of violence in the city that left four dead, including an 8-year-old girl, and saw the looting of the headquarters. from the Georgia State Patrol.

Kemp, a Republican, issued the emergency order after threatening Sunday night to “take action” to curb the Atlanta unrest if Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms failed to do so, a move that highlighted the complicated and increasingly tense relationship between two of the most prominent politicians in the state.

National Guard troops will be dispatched to three locations in the city: the State Capitol, which has been the focus of protests over statues of segregationists and Civil War leaders; the Governor’s Mansion in Buckhead; and the recently destroyed Department of Public Safety building in southeast Atlanta.

“The peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous and destructive agenda. Now innocent Georgians are under attack, shot and left for dead, ”Kemp said. “This anarchy must be stopped and order restored in our capital city.”

The governor’s aides said Monday that his emergency powers give him the authority to deploy Georgia National Guard troops on the streets of Atlanta. He took that step in late May, after widespread looting and violence, at the request of Bottoms.

The mayor did not immediately address Kemp’s decision, but issued his own request to residents to end the violence. At least 93 people were shot in Atlanta between May 31, roughly when the George Floyd protests began, and June 27. That’s roughly double the number from the same period a year ago.

“This wild, wild west random shooting game because you can, has to stop. It has to stop, ”he said after the violent weekend.

The two politicians disagree at a crucial moment. Arguably Kemp is the state’s highest-profile Republican and one of President Donald Trump’s main allies in Georgia, though they have argued about his approach to the coronavirus and his selection for an open seat in the US Senate.

In response, Bottoms scoffed at a notorious Kemp campaign ad by saying it does not "take the advice of people who hold shotguns at children." And she campaigned strongly for Stacey Abrams, saying her victory would offer Democrats the opportunity to "change the world."

Still, they both seemed willing to set the vitriol aside as Kemp prepared to take office, and he notably walked the roughly 300 steps from the Golden Dome to the mayor's office to meet with Bottoms as a sign of respect for one of the top Democratic leaders in the state.

Last year he quietly opposed an effort to ensure state oversight of the airport, the closest it has been in years. And it tapped Bottoms for the state's coronavirus task force, a panel that was created to discuss Georgia's strategy to contain the disease.

Bottoms echoed many of Kemp's decisions in the first weeks of the pandemic, but then forcibly broke with him when he enacted state restrictions that prohibited Atlanta and other cities from taking more drastic measures, and then began to relax the limits. that he established.

When Kemp began easing the restrictions, Bottoms turned to cable news and other media to urge city residents to take refuge there despite the governor's message. Although she often did not directly criticize Kemp, she noted that she and other senior officials were left in the dark.

"It is the governor's prerogative to make the state's decision, but I will continue to urge Atlanta to stay home, stay safe and make decisions based on the best interests of their families," he said after an April order that allowed some closed businesses to reopen.

'The blue returns'

The protest movement around the death of George Floyd has increased tension. At first, when peaceful protests on the streets of Atlanta gave way to violent and chaotic attacks of looting and chaos, Kemp deployed the Georgia National Guard to help restore order and impose curfews.

After a period of relative calm, protests re-emerged after the Rayshard Brooks police shooting, prompting Bottoms to force the resignation of the city's police chief. The murder resulted in criminal charges against two officers involved in the unsuccessful arrest attempt.

Amid massive illnesses from Atlanta agents angered by his treatment by Bottoms and other city officials, Kemp turned to social media with a message of his own: "Georgia supports blue."

"While much of our attention is on the few who have violated their oath, we have not expressed our deepest appreciation for the many more who honor it every day," Kemp said. "So today and every day, we say 'Thank you.'"

A series of shootings that left four dead and two dozen wounded over the weekend appears to have further strained their relationship. At around the same time, 14 people were shot early Sunday at an outdoor party, a crowd of at least 60 burst through the windows of the Georgia State Patrol headquarters.

The violence was roundly condemned by many politicians, including Kemp, who promised to track down the vandals who attacked the state building.

On Monday, one of his legislative allies, Democratic State Representative Vernon Jones, showed reporters that a homemade grenade destroyed a supervisor's office in the southeast Atlanta complex. Dust and debris were still scattered throughout the room, and a computer was warped from the heat of the fire.

But one of the most notable responses came from US Senator Kelly Loeffler. The newly appointed Republican was Kemp’s handpicked selection for the chamber, and she shares many of the same advisers as the governor.

Although he did not specify Bottoms, he linked the violence with a velvet glove approach to protesters by city leaders and blamed the “disbursement police” movement for the chaos.

“I am furious that elected officials with a radical agenda have decided to appease violent criminals rather than protect the public,” said Loeffler. “And I am furious that these ‘leaders’ refuse to support law enforcement when they need it most.”