Governor John Carney has declined to send Delaware National Guard members to assist law enforcement in Washington D.C.
On Monday Secretary of Defence Mark Esper asked Carney to send members of the guard to help keep the peace in the nation’s capital as protests grow larger.
The announcement was made in a statement released by the Governor’s spokesman.
“Governor Carney takes his job as commander-in-chief of the Delaware National Guard extremely seriously, and always seriously considers requests for Guard assistance from other jurisdictions. In the last several years, Delaware National Guardsmen and women have assisted the people of Texas, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico in coping with natural disasters. Members of the Delaware Guard also continue to serve overseas to keep us safe.
Yesterday, we received a request for Guard assistance in Washington, from the federal government. The mission of our Guardsmen and women in Washington was not at all clear. Sending members out of state also limits the Guard’s ability to manage situations in Delaware – including their current role in our COVID-19 response.
And frankly the rhetoric out of the White House seemed like it had the potential to provoke additional unrest. For those reasons, the governor was not comfortable with members of the Delaware Guard assisting in the response. Delaware is not sending members of the Guard to Washington at this time. The governor’s team also has spoken with Mayor Bowser’s office and the mayor’s office has not requested additional assistance.”