“Enough is Enough” Leaders from TN, MS, LA, OH, and WV call on their governors to end National Guard Deployment to DC

The Trump Administration is on track to spend more than $200 million of public money on its occupation of DC. On September 25, Free DC and community leaders from TN, MS, LA, OH, and WV demanded troop withdrawal as the Trump Administration and Republican governors continue to extend unnecessary, wasteful National Guard deployment in the nation's capital.

Here are some of the key moments from the news conference:

“We’re coming together to say, ‘enough is enough.’ End the deployment of the National Guard. …it’s time for governors to prioritize the wellbeing of their own people over the urge to kiss the ring of Trump and his billionaires. … no city in this country should have an unwanted military presence.” - Keya Chatterjee, Executive Director, Free DC

“This takes the National Guard away from their families. This puts the community at risk of more harm … in the event of an emergency, we won’t have the adequate resources that we need in order to make sure our community is safe.” - Tikeila Rucker, Executive Director, Memphis for All 

“There’s also a cost to the actual morale of troops … it pulls our National Guard members away from their families, their civilian jobs, their schools, their communities – everything within their own lives – to go to DC and pick up trash and cut grass and take pictures with tourists. As a former Guard member myself, I would be devastated to know that I’m being pulled away from my family and my life to work as a political pawn.” - Jermaine Collins, a veteran and former member of the Ohio Army National Guard; Lead National Team Organizer With Common Defense

“Towns in West Virginia have crumbling infrastructure where folks aren’t even reachable by emergency vehicles. We have so many specific needs for the West Virginia National Guard that it is unconscionable to send those resources and to send that manpower out of state for a manufactured crisis. Our governor’s willingness to send our Guard out of state for political theater while rejecting our urgent needs here in the state is unacceptable.” - Dani Parent, Executive Director, West Virginia Citizen Action Group

“Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the nation. Black Mississippians, queer and trans Mississippians, and low-income communities already carry a disproportionate share of the burdens created by poverty, underfunded schools, crumbling infrastructure, and an under-resourced healthcare system. Instead of directing our limited public dollars toward repairing these inequities, Governor Reeves has chosen to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to send our Guard members hundreds of miles away from their families for Trump’s political theater. Our taxpayer dollars should not bankroll Trump’s vanity project in DC. This decision makes Governor Reeves’ priorities clear – protecting the power structures in Washington rather than protecting the people of Mississippi.” -  Lea Campbell, Founder, Mississippi Rising Coalition 

“This occupation is illegal and unjust and absolutely a distraction and a display of authoritarianism and fascism. … Here in New Orleans, we are in the midst of hurricane season and so it is both dangerous and irresponsible for our governor, Jeff Landry, to have sent our National Guard to Washington, DC, at a time such as this when we know quite realistically that storms are both intensifying much more quickly than ever before. They are much more disastrous, and we’ve got to be ready at a moment’s notice.” - Pastor Gregory Manning, Louisiana

Community leaders from DC, TN, MS, OH, LA, and WV answer questions from media at September 25 news conference.