Kenosha County Board members ask Gov. Evers for 1,500 National Guard members in Kenosha
KENOSHA, Wis. - Members of the Kenosha County Board scheduled a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 26 to discuss a letter sent to Governor Tony Evers along with other local and state officials, along with "a timeline of events starting Sunday, Aug. 23 until Wednesday, Aug. 26" in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.
The press conference was held at the "now destroyed" Wisconsin State Community Corrections Division on 60th Street in Kenosha.
The letter to Evers is as follows:
August 26, 2020
Dear Honorable Governor Evers,
We, the undersigned, are urgently asking for your swift action to activate more National Guard troops with police powers to be sent to Kenosha County.
Our county is under attack. Our businesses are under attack. Our homes are under attack.
Our local law enforcement agencies need additional support to help bring civility back to our community.
We are formally asking for 1,500 National Guard members with police powers to be sent to Kenosha County immediately.
Our county is in a state of emergency and we need additional law enforcement to help preserve and save Kenosha County.
We encourage you to visit Kenosha County and see firsthand the destruction that has been inflicted on our community.
Governor Tony Evers said Wednesday he'd be increasing the National Guard response to 500 members Wednesday night, and President Donald Trump said Gov. Evers accepted federal assistance after denying it Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Evers turned down a White House offer to dispatch additional National Guard troops to Kenosha after two nights of rioting that followed the police shooting Blake, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told "Tucker Carlson Tonight.
"The president was on the phone with the governor today ... we have National Guard standing by, and if the general for the National Guard [in Kenosha] needs additional help, we're there to do it, but today, that request was denied by the governor," Meadows told host Tucker Carlson Tuesday.
An Evers' spokesperson said this Wednesday afternoon: "Gov. Evers has been working with several state partners to get additional National Guard and state patrol support. I can confirm the governor spoke with Mark Meadows this morning. The federal government is planning to assist in facilitating conversations with other state partners and provide FBI support to our state response."
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