White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, cited by Edward Keenan, a Toronto Star Washington bureau chief, that the Trump administration has deployed almost 1,000 National Guard troops and over 200 federal law enforcement personnel, including FBI and US Marshals, to Wisconsin, reportedly to help curb unrest spanning the city of Kenosha after the shooting of Jacob Blake.
From the White House: pic.twitter.com/gDNNyZWkCI
— Edward Keenan (@thekeenanwire) August 27, 2020
Earlier, the US Justice Department said that over 200 federal agents had been sent to Kenosha as a result of the ongoing protests.
"DOJ has deployed 200+ agents and marshals from the FBI, ATF, and USMS to assist state and local law enforcement in the response to rioting and unrest and will continue to surge Kenosha with federal resources as needed and necessary," Kerri Kupec, a DOJ spokesperson, said in the statement on Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said that Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers had agreed to accept federal assistance to quell the unrest in the city. Evers confirmed in a statement that 500 members of the Wisconsin National Guard would be deployed to Kenosha, in addition to 250 he authorized earlier in the week.
The Wisconsin governor accepted federal help in curbing the unrest after announcing a state of emergency in the state on Tuesday.
Kenosha has seen violent protests since 24 August, after footage of white police officers shooting a black man, Jacob Blake, emerged online. The rioters have set buildings and vehicles on fire, smashed windows and clashed with cops. Two people have been killed, reportedly by a white civilian militia member, and one injured during the protests. A 17-year-old suspect was arrested hours later in Illinois and is now charged with first degree murder for the protest shootings.
Blake, who currently faces charges of rape and domestic abuse, has reportedly survived the shooting, but is now paralyzed from the waist down.
