Texas Governor Gregg Abbott announced on Wednesday that he had deployed the National Guard ahead of planned protests in San Antonio.
Abbott announced his decision in a social media post on X.
“Texas National Guard will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order,” Abbott wrote in the post. “Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest. @TexasGuard will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order.”
This decision came on the heels of a days-long anti-ICE protest in Los Angeles where some demonstrators threw stones at law enforcement and caused damage to vehicles. President Trump deployed the National Guard and later, mobilized the Marines to handle the crowd.
Major protests have also taken place in cities across Texas, including Austin and Dallas, though not as large and long-lasting as the one in Los Angeles.
In Austin, four police officers were injured when they attempted to move several hundred protesters from between the Capitol building and federal building where ICE is housed. Some demonstrators tried to vandalize the federal building during the uprising. Local police arrested eight people and state police arrested three more.
In Dallas, one person was arrested and charged with assault on an officer and attempting to take an officer’s weapon.
Ahead of the protests in San Antonio on Wednesday evening, the governor decided to take a proactive measure to try to keep things under control.
In a statement sent to Fox News from Governor Abbott’s press secretary Andrew Mahaleris wrote, “The State of Texas stands ready to deploy all necessary personnel and resources to uphold law and order across our state,” Mahaleris said. “Texas National Guard soldiers are on standby in areas where mass demonstrations are planned in case they are needed. Peaceful protests are part of the fabric of our nation, but Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles. Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be swiftly held accountable to the full extent of the law.”
