BOSTON (SHNS) – Governor Charlie Baker has activated the Massachusetts National Guard, sending troops to Washington, D.C., and putting some on standby in the Commonwealth.
The Governor was hesitant at first to send members of the Guard to D.C. but he did end up filling the personnel request, and he even deployed Guardsmen in Massachusetts out of an abundance of caution.
He said several times this week that there is no imminent threat to public safety in Massachusetts.
After multiple conversations with state and federal law enforcement officials, Gov. Baker decided that he would be proactive in protecting against any potential threats.
“We’re also calling up about 500 guard personnel to basically be on standby in case anything comes up that we need to deal with here in Massachusetts over the next few days,” Baker said.
A total of 1,000 guardsmen have been activated. Five hundred will be used to help with the peaceful transition of power in D.C. and 500 will be on standby in Massachusetts.
As of right now, the FBI and the governor aren’t aware of any planned demonstrations at the statehouse or in other parts of the Commonwealth.
