In response to the protests across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel are being deployed across the country.
Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan released a statement to Twitter, confirming that the agency sent personnel to the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. in an effort to “assist law enforcement partners” with responding to protests, which he claimed had “devolved into chaos [and] acts of domestic terrorism by groups of radicals [and] agitators.” Morgan said that personnel would be assisting with securing national monuments and memorials across D.C., some of which he claimed “were defaced by rioters.”
“We’re working hard to prevent it from happening again, and we’re proud to protect them,” Morgan said.
CBP spokesperson Stephanie Malin sent a statement to Newsweek, saying the deployments would be stretched “across the country at the request of our federal, state, and local partners confronting the lawless actions of rioters.”
While Malin would not disclose where the units would be deployed, Morgan tweeted that CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) would be providing “situational awareness” in the D.C. area, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, El Paso, Miami, and San Diego.
Protests have ensued since George Floyd was killed by white police officer Derek Chauvin after he kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25th.
