The Seattle City Council passed a resolution informing the federal government they will not allow federalized National Guardsmen or active-duty troops to be deployed to the city as protests and clashes with police continue.
Police made multiple warnings to push the crowd back from the barricade. Have now ordered an issue to disperse. Will post more videos soon in this thread pic.twitter.com/HifOmrNV6D
— Chase Burns (@chaseburnsy) June 7, 2020
Organizers call for demonstrators to block off all intersections, and reassert call for peaceful protest. pic.twitter.com/YitMCIWkQ2
— Rich Smith (@richsssmith) June 9, 2020
The protest and unrest are in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd while he was in Minneapolis police custody, with the arresting officer kneeling into his neck despite being handcuffed. While protests and riots occurred in almost every major city in the United States, the situations across the county have calmed down with the help of their respective National Guard being called in to help local law enforcement.
Federalized National Guardsmen or active-duty military personnel can be deployed on U.S. soil through the 1807 Insurrection Act. The Seattle City Council resolution states they are preemptively rejecting the military's help to stop the unrest the city is still experiencing.
The resolution was introduced by Andrew Lewis, who represents District 7.
"The Seattle City Council does not intend to request — and will never support — any intervention by the United States military forces or federalized National Guard," Lewis said in a statement. "The City of Seattle categorically condemns the President's statement threatening to use military force to address property damage or violence in any jurisdiction, such as the city of Seattle, that has not specifically requested such intervention."
The Council unanimously passed a resolution today that I sponsored explicitly rejecting any dispatching of troops under the 1807 Insurrection Act to respond to ongoing demonstrations. We need de-escalation, not an unconstitutional military invasion. pic.twitter.com/LXSJypvvy5
— Andrew J. Lewis (@LewisforSeattle) June 9, 2020
Trump had ordered some active-duty military units to be on standby to help law enforcement in Washington, D.C. after the District experienced its own rioting and looting last week. Though with the help of the Washington, D.C. National Guard, their active-duty counterparts were not needed.