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texas Governor greg abbott has said it plans to deploy state troops and members of its state National Guard to the streets of Austin Saturday to help police the latest round of protests against No Kings donald trump Administration.
“Today, I directed the Department of Public Safety and National Guard to increase strength Austin ahead of one Antifa-Joined opposition,” Governor Abbot wrote Thursday at X. ,texas Will not tolerate anarchy. Any person destroying property or committing an act of violence will be immediately arrested. Law and order will be enforced.”
Abbott provided no evidence to support his claim that No Kings demonstrations had taken place across the country. Held for the first time on June 14 in more than 2,000 cities and townsAre affiliated with Antifa, the name given to a loose group of left-wing activists who are close to Trump Accused of involvement in domestic terrorism, But it appears to have no central organizing structure of any kind.
In response, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson Said In a statement of its own it said the Guard would be present but would not be called out “unless there is a determination that there is an emergency need.”
“The city of Austin and I will continue to protect the people’s right to peacefully assemble,” Watson said. “I support people who are exercising their right to engage in peaceful protests against politics and policies with which they disagree.
“Power must always remain with the people, where it belongs. I share our belief in our democracy. I am committed – now more than ever – to standing up against efforts to devalue and dismantle our democracy.”
The mayor added, “Let me be clear: I do not accept the militarization of our streets… All we see from Washington is creating fear and chaos. Unfortunately, our state is also engaging in this. We should not be playing in this politics.”
Michael Bullock, President of the Austin Police Association, Said: “Our department has been very helpful in ensuring that we help people peacefully express their First Amendment rights so that they can exercise their rights. However, this does not include criminal behavior.
“I would encourage anyone who is considering engaging in illegal behavior to be aware that the department monitors things and we are prepared for things and it is not appropriate to go down that path. It is always best to remain peaceful and not engage in any criminal behavior.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety told Fox 7 Austin that its Homeland Security Division will monitor Saturday’s incident, investigate any possible terror links, and make swift arrests if anyone breaks the law.
Abbott’s attempt to link No Kings rallies to antifa follows Transport Secretary Sean Duffy that’s what I am doing During an appearance on Fox Business earlier this week, he claimed without evidence that the protesters participating were paid members of Antifa.
“This is part of Antifa, paid protesters, it begs the question, who is funding this?” Duffy asked host Maria Bartiromo on Monday.
“Democrats want to wait for a big No Kings protest rally while the main thing is: Who is running the show in the Senate? chuck schumerThe show is not going on. No Kings protesters or organizers are running the show.
Meanwhile, Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall has accused protesters of paying george sorosA favorite boogeyman is the Open Society Foundations Network The Department of Justice is investigating Under Trump’s direction.
republican house speaker mike johnson He is among conservatives who have labeled the protests “America Hate” rallies and accused opposition Democrats of being unable to control their “crazy base.”
No Kings organizers hit back at Johnson over those comments, accusing him of “eliminating excuses to keep the government shut down.”
He said, “Instead of reopening the government, preserving affordable health care, or lowering costs for working families, he is attacking the millions of Americans who are peacefully coming together to say America belongs to its people, not to kings.”