The Texas Army National Guard announced the deployment of up to 1,000 troops to five cities across the state ahead of the Nov. 3 elections. However, the Guard denied plans of sending them to polling places. The Guard's activation was for post-election support for local law enforcement and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) “to deter any civil disturbance,” retired Maj. Gen. James K. “Red” Brown told the San Antonio Express-News Oct. 26. Brown serves as the chief of staff to the Texas National Guard commander.
Texas Guard spokesman Brandon Jones told Express-News that troops could be deployed to Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin. He added that the Guard will also be stationed at the Alamo and the Texas Capitol and other areas. “Right now, we could go to 1,000 troops in support of civil disturbance operations,” Jones said. “We’re going to guard buildings just like we did during the George Floyd protests earlier this year.”
Gov. Greg Abbott last activated the Guard in May following Black Lives Matter protests over the death of George Floyd, Everything Lubbock reported. Abbott said: “Texans have every right to exercise their First Amendment rights, but violence and looting will not be tolerated.” One thousand guardsmen were sent to aid police and DPS officers during the riots.
Jones said that guardsmen will not be sent to polling places for now. “We are not going anywhere near polling locations. That has not been requested.” However, he added that any plans “could change” and the National Guard could be stationed to precincts.
Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, adjutant general of the Texas Army National Guard, seconded Jones’ remarks. In an Oct. 26 statement to the Austin American-Statesman, Norris said: “The Texas National Guard continues to support the DPS guarding historical landmarks such as the Alamo and the State Capitol. To be clear, there has been no request nor plan to provide any type of support at any polling location in Texas.” However, Norris also noted that a contingency plan is in place if elections in Texas encounter problems.
Is the Texas National Guard’s deployment part of pre-emptive actions against an insurrection?
The activation and deployment of the Texas National Guard appears to be in anticipation of widespread rioting following the Nov. 3 presidential elections. A number of far-left radical groups have expressed their intent to stage a coup in case President Donald Trump gets re-elected, with some even publishing online guides explaining how to go about with it.
However, an earlier report by Natural News in September outlined Trump’s “secret weapon”: The Fourteenth Amendment. The amendment grants the president the power to arrest and indefinitely hold officials who support “rebellion” or give “aid or comfort” to the enemies of America, and deprive cities and states engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” of federal funding.
While Trump has not yet invoked this amendment, he insinuated that any insurrection on election night would be “put down quickly.” Politico reported Sept. 11 that the president gave the remark after Fox News host Jeanine Pirro asked him how he would respond to the unrest in case he gets re-elected.
“We’ll put them down very quickly if they do that. We have the right to do that. We have the power to do that, if we want. Look, it’s called insurrection. We just send in, and we do it very easy. I mean, it’s very easy. I’d rather not do that because there’s no reason for it, but if we had to, we’d do that and put it down within minutes,” Trump answered Pirro.
While Texas National Guard officials have said that guardsmen will not be stationed to polling places on Nov. 3, possible “changes of plans” can prompt their deployment to nip election-related violence and leftist unrest in the bud.
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