Questions Continue Regarding A National Guard Presence In Boston

Last Friday, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker's Executive Order to implement members of The National Guard in various Bay State locations has angered many state wide residents as immediate action was taken due to an escalation of public protests that became out of control after a recent police shooting that occurred in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Baker immediately responded as to why he made the call:

"We heard from a number of municipal officials who asked us if we would have people available to support them if these events turned out to be bigger than what they would be able to manage on their own".

It was not specified which Massachusetts cities and towns expressed their reservations due to these questionable actions as 45 to 50 events were advertised in various social media platforms. The irony of this matter resulted in a lack of response from Guard members after no requests for support were made.

In a recent news briefing, Governor Baker made this decision as he expressed concern that massive amounts of protestors would make their presence in support of 29 year old Jacob Blake who remains hospitalized and was paralyzed from wounds stemming from this alleged attack by Kenosha police officers.

Demonstrations also coincided on the same day with crowds that were also on hand to commemorate the 57th anniversary of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech that took place in the nation's capital on August 28th 1963.

The order was signed as "a precautionary measure" that would dispatch up to 1,000 National Guard members to offer "special duty and emergency assistance for the preservation of life and property. preservation of order and protection to statewide residents."

State officials remained silent on this matter for a few days after the measure was enacted. Here is a statement from The Executive Order of Public Safety and Security as they officially ended the impending activation:

"Following coordination with Municipal leaders through the weekend regarding potential large scale demonstrations. Governor Baker today authorized The Adjutant General of The Massachusetts National Guard to end The Governor's August 28th activation order which made Guard personnel available in the event that Municipal leaders required their assistance, ended at midnight on Monday night (August 31st)."

Recently, the National Guard was instrumental in assisting The Bay state with COVID-19 testing, food deliveries and securing medical facilities during the six month long pandemic as Massachusetts has recently received federal funding to cover any COVID-19 missions. Guard members activated by this order served on state active duty and recently received federal police training to rectify the situation at hand.

The question remains "Did this really have to happen? Why did this end so abruptly? Plus, Bay State residents STILL have not received a detailed explanation from Boston regarding this questionable action. When more details become available, we'll keep you posted.

(The following information was obtained by WSBS courtesy of a recent article published by Stef Solis who is a contributing writer at "Mass LIVE")