The use of the National Guard for Civil Unrest is costing Americans billions of dollars
Washington DC May 4 2021
The cost of protecting America’s citizens during riots, high profile trials and political events has skyrocketed since 2012.
Beside the regular assignment of local police, often times state and federal law enforcement are brought in to assist the local police at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars per incident.
Now, the National Guard, in high numbers and with very expensive vehicles, equipment and set-up costs are also being called into these situations frequently.
Expenses topped $25 million recently for the Minnesota National Guard’s deployment of thousands of its members around the Derek Chauvin murder trial, according to newly released invoices.
The Guard submitted its cost calculations in memos to the Minnesota Management and Budget department. Under state law, the Guard is automatically reimbursed when summoned into action and those dollars will come out of the general treasury.
Roughly 3,500 Guard members were brought into the Twin Cities at various stages of the Chauvin trial to watch over key buildings and be ready to respond if demonstrations devolved into something more severe. That represents one-quarter of the full Minnesota National Guard.
Ultimately, the Twin Cities experienced relatively little upheaval during the trial and after the Chauvin guilty verdict in the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
There were tense moments in Brooklyn Center during protests into the recent police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright and it was the National Guard that was immediately deployed there as well.
Guard members are done with that mission and back to their regular lives. Some had to stay on slightly longer to repair and store equipment used during the assignment, a Guard official said.
The most significant expense of about $17 million, was for paying Guard members for the time they were on active duty and mileage costs to get them in place. But meals and lodging also added up to about $6.5 million.
Lesser amounts were spent on equipment, fuel, and unspecified supplies according to the invoices and a recent inside look at the coasts of these type of local deployments.
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Legislature approved and Gov. Tim Walz signed a separate $7.8 million bill to cover expenses of the Minnesota State Patrol, Department of Natural Resources and two states that sent in law enforcement personnel as part of Operation Safety Net.
The stepped-up presence was designed to avoid a repeat of the civil unrest that led to nights of violence, looting and destruction of businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul after Floyd’s death that was caught on video sparked worldwide racial justice protests.
The executive order that Walz used to mobilize the Guard in recent months runs until the end of 2021 given the anticipated trials of three other former Minneapolis police officers on scene the night Floyd was killed. Those trials are set for August.
The Guard is also involved in several other missions around COVID-19, including help in testing and vaccination. Costs for those assignments have climbed into the millions, but much of that will be eligible for federal reimbursement.
When the Guard was pressed into emergency duty during last year’s civil unrest, it quickly sought reimbursement for $13 million in costs.
The National Guard deployment to secure DC cost nearly $700 million and lasted several months.
The deployment brought troops in from all 50 states and four territories as law enforcement agencies tried to lock down the Capitol for the inauguration of the President Joe Biden. Thousands of Guard members poured into the nation’s capital and were stationed across the city to block traffic and protect lawmakers and landmarks.
Officials said the nearly $700 million includes the costs of transporting Guard troops from their states to Washington, their salaries and benefits, as well as housing and other essentials. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss internal figures and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Because the troops were activated by the federal government for more than 30 days, their health benefits are also covered, adding to the price of the deployment.
With prolonged civil unrests, local authorities are often understaffed and overwhelmed and unable to control the rioters. The use of the National Guard is an important part of the cooperation of the state and federal governments in protecting our nation and our neighborhoods said one senior National Guard official.
