Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state troopers and Texas National Guard members into Austin ahead of a planned protest this weekend, which the governor called an “antifa-linked demonstration.”
In a statement Thursday, the governor said the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard will deploy “all necessary” personnel and tactical resources to the state Capitol, where the Saturday afternoon protest will be held from 2 to 5:30 p.m.
“Violence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas," Abbott said. “Texas will deter criminal mischief and work with local law enforcement to arrest anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property."
Thousands of people are expected to take part in “No Kings Day” protests across the country this weekend, including nearly 100 demonstrations in Texas alone. Organizers of the nationally coordinated protest say the effort is meant to push back against what they describe as authoritarian, anti-democratic ambitions linked to President Donald Trump.
As of Thursday afternoon, it was unclear whether the National Guard would also be deployed to events in other major Texas cities. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to questions about possible additional deployments, but Abbott noted that the Austin deployment was “in addition to the thousands of DPS troopers already stationed throughout the state.”
Earlier this month, Texas National Guard troops were federalized and sent to Chicago, where immigration agents faced protests outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. The deployments prompted legal challenges, with federal judges temporarily blocking additional out-of-state troop deployments to Portland and Chicago.
This is a developing story.