WA National Guard preparing for possible civil unrest following Tuesday election
About 300 Washington National Guard soldiers have trained to handle possible civil unrest after Election Day.
They’ll be placed on alert along with hundreds of other guardsmen who’ve already been trained and were activated to assist police in Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma during June’s racial justice protests.
Although a spokesman for the Seattle office of the FBI told The Seattle Times that there have been no credible threats thus far, he said there is a certain level of risk from both far-left anti-government factions as well as far-right groups in the time between the vote and the determination of the winner.
During an appearance on CNN last month, Gov. Jay Inslee said he sees “no reason that we should have any outrageous or violent behavior,” but during a regularly scheduled press conference last week, he said his office is considering how to handle any civil unrest in Washington “to be prepared.”
A spokesperson for the Washington National Guard said soldiers are preparing for civil unrest missions, but there have been no requests for activation since June.
When Inslee ordered a statewide activation of the Washington National Guard on May 31, it marked the first time in 21 years that Guard troops were activated statewide due to “civil unrest.”
That last time was in December 1999 during the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle. Guard troops also have been activated this year to handle wildfires, winter storms, civil unrest, COVID-19 and election security missions.
Some of the guardsmen going through Military Assistance for Civil Disturbance training have just returned from deployment in Jordan.
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 10:00 AM.
