Results for: National Guard Deployment

Nationwide pro-Palestinian protests have escalated, prompting concerns about campus safety and calls for intervention from the National Guard. House Speaker Mike Johnson raised the possibility of National Guard deployment, invoking memories of tragic incidents in the 1970s when students were killed by the National Guard during anti-war demonstrations. The protests, which began at Columbia University, have gained momentum at other institutions, including the University of Southern California and the University of Texas in Austin, where hundreds of protesters rallied, leading to arrests and campus closures. Student protesters express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and call for universities to divest from entities tied to Israel, while pro-Israel supporters highlight antisemitic incidents and advocate for campus security.

GOP Senators Josh Hawley and Tom Cotton have urged President Biden to deploy the National Guard to college campuses, particularly Columbia University, due to ongoing pro-Palestinian protests and sit-ins. Hawley compared the situation to the Little Rock Nine incident, while Cotton called for disbanding such groups and invoking the Insurrection Act if necessary. Columbia has switched to remote classes to address the escalating tensions, but arrests and suspensions have not fully quelled the protests, which have also spread to other universities.