Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers increased the number of National Guardsmen available to assist state law enforcement officials amid heightened tensions following the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Evers announced on Wednesday that 500 members of the Wisconsin National Guard will be deployed to help local officials in Kenosha County. The move is an increase from the 125 guardsmen who were authorized on Monday and the 250 on Tuesday.
The guardsmen will not be permitted to prevent peaceful protesters from assembling or disallow media members from covering the ongoing tension.
“Any Guard members called to active duty may only be used to provide support to local law enforcement and to protect critical infrastructure and cultural institutions necessary for the well-being of the community, and to provide support to first responders such as the Kenosha Fire Department,” the statement said. “The Wisconsin National Guard may not be used to impede the ability of people to peacefully protest or impede the ability of the media to report on this situation.”
At about the same time Evers made the announcement, President Trump declared on social media that he will be “sending federal law enforcement” to Kenosha. Evers’s statement did not reference the president’s comments about federal officers, but Trump said that Evers “agreed to accept federal assistance.”
Tensions in Kenosha, a city of roughly 100,000 residents, have been escalating since the viral video emerged of Blake, a 29-year-old black man, being shot on Sunday. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, with the help of the U.S. Justice Department, is investigating the shooting. Officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave, but their identities have not been released.
Trump already deployed federal officers to different cities including Portland, Oregon, during a time when protests and riots were escalating.
