D.C. requests National Guard presence ahead of Chauvin verdict

Christopher Rodriguez, director of the D.C. government’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, sent an April 8 letter to the D.C. National Guard requesting the assistance, but it has yet to be approved by the Army. Officials requested that members of the National Guard be activated to support the D.C. police department to manage crowds, block vehicles at traffic posts and provide a “quick response force.” The guardsmen would not be armed. Specifically, officials requested six crowd management teams, National Guard members to help secure 30 traffic posts and a team of at least 300 guardsmen to respond quickly to instances of “large-scale civil unrest” should they occur.