1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

I am writing to ask you to condemn the deployment of the national guard in Washington DC as an instance of gross abuse of the executive powers. Crime rates are low, not out-of-control, and there is not a reasonable cause for this expensive “big government” move. The President invoked section 740 of the DC home rule act to take over the Metropolitan Police, and nowhere in that section is the National Guard’s use mentioned. Further, the Posse Comitatus Act — which exists to preserve democracy and personal liberty as a constitutional safeguard — does not allow for this activation. Earlier this year, DC’s Mayor Bowser published results of a 9% decrease in area homeless thanks for efforts such as Project Reconnect, Front Door Navigation, Transforming Our Shelter System, Targeting Youth Homelessness, Permanent Housing, and the Peer Case Management Institute. If the President is willing to spend large amounts of funds on this violent undertaking, wouldn’t it be so much more effective to use the funds instead for these efforts that promote human dignity and help the homeless become productive citizens instead of just moving them from one place to another? DC did not ask for this. America did not ask for this. It is wasteful, inflammatory, unnecessary, and it reeks of aspiring authoritarian control. Please speak out for what is right — speak out against this illegal strongman violence.