Missouri Governor Signals Long-term National Guard Presence in Ferguson
By Andre Damon
Global Research
December 01, 2014
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has announced plans to call a special session of the Missouri General Assembly this week in order to allocate additional funding for the National Guard occupation of the St. Louis Area. The move comes amid continued nationwide outrage over the judicial whitewash of the police murder of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown, after a grand jury refused to bring charges against his killer, Darren Wilson.
The announcement marks a signal by Nixon that there will be no roll-back of the National Guard presence in the city in the near term, despite the fact that there has been no sign of violence or looting in recent days.
Nixon more than tripled the number of troops in the St. Louis region last week, from 700 to 2,200.
“Swift action is necessary to ensure both that these brave men and women can be paid on December 15 for their hard work on behalf of our state and that the resources necessary are available.” Nixon wrote in a letter to lawmakers Saturday.
Nixon declared a state of emergency and activated the Missouri National Guard on November 17, ahead of the expected grand jury decision, which came exactly one week later. Since then, the National Guard has had a significant presence in the area and has carried out arrests at demonstrations.
In his letter to members of the General Assembly, Nixon bragged that “in addition to providing security at nearly 100 locations around the region, including at police stations, fire houses, utility substations, hospitals, shopping malls and stadiums, guardsmen are also performing roving and static patrols in the Ferguson area.”
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