Baltimore officials protest Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard to city

BALTIMORE/ISTANBUL

Baltimore city officials in the US state of Maryland staged a protest on Friday against President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to the city, which he called a place with crime “at levels that no one has ever seen before.”

The march, organized by the city administration in opposition to Trump’s attempts to extend security measures implemented in Washington, DC, to other cities, drew participation from Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, and local residents.

During the event, Moore addressed the crowd, stating that Baltimore does not need the National Guard presence that Trump has threatened to send.

He emphasized that the president’s threat appeared to be a “purely theatrical” show of force aimed at sending a political message, rather than a genuine effort to address the city’s needs.

Residents participating in the march chanted slogans such as “We all we got, we all we need.”

Trump had previously claimed that the security measures implemented in Washington had quickly cleared the city of criminals and that similar actions could be applied in other high-crime cities like Chicago and Baltimore.

He described these cities as having some of the highest crime rates in the world, calling it “shameful” and asserting that authorities must take steps to make them safe.

Trump to send National Guard also to New Orleans

In a separate announcement at a White House event, Trump said that National Guard troops would also be sent to New Orleans, Louisiana.

He promised that the city would be “safe” within two weeks, citing reductions in crime following the Aug. 11 declaration of a “public safety emergency” in Washington, DC, aimed at enhancing security and lowering crime rates.

Trump added that Baltimore, like Washington, would be “made safe,” and asserted that similar efforts would be extended to other US cities.

“We’ll be going elsewhere throughout the country, we’re going to bring crime down, because we can’t have cities that are unsafe.”

Public safety emergency in Washington

On Aug. 11, Trump declared a “public safety emergency” in Washington, DC, to bolster security and reduce crime.

As part of the measures, the federal government took control of the city’s police operations and deployed National Guard troops.

The Department of Justice appointed Terry Cole, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as the city’s “emergency police commissioner.”

The Pentagon later confirmed that 800 National Guard personnel had been deployed to the capital by Aug. 14.

Several US states, including West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio, also sent hundreds of National Guard troops under the emergency declaration.