Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana has asked the Trump administration to deploy as many as 1,000 National Guard troops in his state, embracing the president’s push to use troops to fight crime.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, the Republican governor asked for the troops from Louisiana to help with “ongoing public safety concerns regarding high crime rates.”
The Guard, Mr. Landry wrote, would “supplement law enforcement presence in high-crime areas, provide logistical and communication support and secure critical infrastructure.” He did not specify in his letter where exactly he wanted troops to be, but mentioned New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport as cities that have higher crime rates and a shortage of law enforcement personnel.
While crime has been decreasing overall nationally after a spike during the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump has continued to complain about the perception of violence, particularly in states and cities led by Democrats. But unlike New Orleans and most of the other cities he has singled out, Baton Rouge and Shreveport have Republican mayors.
Mr. Trump, speaking at a gathering of top military leaders on Tuesday, also suggested that “we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.”
The Democratic governors of California, Illinois and Oregon have resisted Mr. Trump’s call to deploy the National Guard and other federal agencies in the cities in their states. On Sunday, the state of Oregon and its largest city, Portland, sued the president and members of his administration to block the use of Oregon National Guard troops against demonstrators.
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