Texas governor Greg Abbott said he was deploying the Texas National Guard in multiple locations throughout the state to “guarantee peace and order.”
The deployment advances to the protests planned this week in Texas, even in San Antonio.
A statement from the Abbott office obtained by ABC News affiliate, Ksat, confirmed the deployment, saying that the guards were ready to “defend the law and order throughout our state.”
In this photo of May 4, 2018, Governor Greg Abbott speaks in the Legislative Action Leadership Forum of the National Rifles Association in Dallas.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
“Pacific protests are part of our nation’s fabric, but Texas will not tolerate the anarchy we have seen in Los Angeles,” said Abbott’s office in a statement. “Anyone who participates in acts of violence or harmful property will be quickly responsible for the law.”
The Abbott’s movement occurs in the midst of increasing protests in Los Angeles, where activists have been protesting Trump administration immigration policies.
The protests in Los Angeles have sometimes become violent. And President Donald Trump ordered both the National Guard and the Marines to the south of California in recent days.
“The peaceful protest is legal,” said Abbott on Tuesday. “Darmlar a person or property is illegal and will lead to arrest. “
He said the Texas National Guard “would use all the tools and strategy to help the application of the law to maintain order. “
The Head of the San Antonio Police Department, Jesse Salame, also confirmed to KSAT that the guard members have been sent to San Antonio.
