38th Street in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd | Wikimedia Commons
38th Street in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd | Wikimedia Commons
About 50 Michigan National Guard members based at the Port Huron Armory are being held in reserve, in case communities statewide need them to act as a peaceful presence.
Michigan National Guard Capt. Andrew Layton told the Port Huron Times Herald that they will help with cleanup efforts after the protests, in addition to their peacekeeping duties.
It has been a very busy few months for the National Guard, which has participated in Michigan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the relief efforts for the central Michigan flooding emergency and the recent George Floyd demonstrations.
Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss expressed her gratitude for the National Guard after it fulfilled her request when protests for Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died in Minneapolis police custody, took place in her city.
Lansing Mayor Andy Schor hailed the National Guard as a highly valued complement to the Lansing Police Department and other area law enforcement actively monitoring protests in the state capital.
The Port Huron Times Herald reported that approximately 5,000 Guard members from 17 states were activated in response to the nationwide civil unrest.
Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, told the Times Herald that the Michigan National Guard is highly and properly trained to protect communities throughout the state. “We are also neighbors in these communities, and we are committed to protecting the people who call them home, as well as their right to peacefully protest,” he said.
With the number of Michiganders participating on the rise, state health officials fear a new wave of the coronavirus could strike. The Detroit Free Press reported that doctors and health care workers are bracing for a spike in cases.
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