MADISON, WI (WSAU) — Governor Tony Evers has announced that National Guard troops from Arizona, Michigan, and Alabama are mobilizing for Kenosha to support efforts to protect infrastructure and protesters in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake.
In a statement, Evers said the troops are coming to Wisconsin through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. EMAC is a mutual aid agreement that allows governors to provide state-to-state assistance during declared states of emergency. It will enable other states to provide resources such as National Guard troops and equipment to the requesting state.
He adds that the troops coming to Wisconsin will be doing so in a state and not a federal role. They will be reporting to Wisconsin’s Adjunct General while remaining under their home state’s administrative control.
Evers did not disclose how many troops from each state will be heading to Kenosha. Hundreds of Wisconsin National Guard troops are already on the ground in the city, which has seen three nights of protests that have turned violent.
Evers went on to emphasize that the Guard Troops are not leading the response. They are in Kenosha in a support role to assist civil authorities in preserving public safety and individuals’ ability to exercise their First Amendment rights to assemble peaceably.
