Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said he plans to deploy state troopers and members of his state’s National Guard to the streets of Austin on Saturday to help police the latest round of No Kings protests against the Donald Trump administration.
“Today, I directed the Dept of Public Safety and National Guard to surge forces into Austin ahead of an Antifa-linked protest,” Gov. Abbot wrote on X on Thursday. “Texas will NOT tolerate chaos. Anyone destroying property or committing acts of violence will be swiftly arrested. Law and order will be enforced.”
Abbott provided no evidence to support his claim that the nationwide No Kings demonstrations, which were first held on June 14 in over 2,000 cities and towns, are affiliated with Antifa, the name given to a loose grouping of left-wing activists that Trump has accused of engaging in domestic terrorism, but which do not appear to have a central organizing structure of any kind.
In response, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement of his own that the Guard will be on hand but not called upon “unless there is a determination that there is an emergency need.”
“The city of Austin and I will continue to protect the right of people to peacefully assemble,” Watson said. “I support people exercising their right to engage in peaceful protest against politics and policies that they disagree with.
“Power should always stay with the people, where it belongs. I share the belief in our democracy. I am committed – now more than ever – to stand against efforts to devalue and dismantle our democracy.”
The mayor went further, adding: “Let me be clear: I don’t condone the militarization of our streets… Much of what we see out of Washington is to create fear and chaos. Unfortunately, our state engages in this, too. We should not play into these politics.”
Michael Bullock, President of Austin Police Association, said: “Our department has been very accommodating to make sure that we help people express their first amendment rights in a peaceful manner so that way they can exercise their rights. However, that does not include criminal behavior.
“I would encourage anybody that may be considering engaging in illegal behavior to be aware that the department does monitor things and we are prepared for things and it’s not worth going down that route. It’s always best to just remain peaceful and to not engage in any criminal behavior.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety told Fox 7 Austin that its Homeland Security division will be monitoring Saturday’s event, investigating any possible terror links, and making swift arrests if anyone breaks the law.
Abbott’s attempt to tie the No Kings rallies to Antifa follows Transport Secretary Sean Duffy doing the same during a Fox Business appearance earlier this week, claiming without evidence that the demonstrators set to take part are paid members of Antifa.
“This is part of Antifa, paid protesters, it begs the question who’s funding it?” Duffy asked host Maria Bartiromo Monday.
“Democrats want to wait for a big rally of a No Kings protest when the bottom line is: who’s running the show in the Senate? Chuck Schumer’s not running the show. The No Kings protesters or organizers are running the show.”
Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall has, meanwhile, accused protesters of being paid by George Soros, a favorite boogeyman whose Open Society Foundations network is under investigation by the Department of Justice under Trump’s direction.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is among the conservatives who have labelled the protests “Hate America” rallies and accused opposition Democrats of being unable to control their “rabid base.”
The No Kings organizers shot back at Johnson over those remarks, accusing him of “running out of excuses for keeping the government shut down.”
“Instead of reopening the government, preserving affordable healthcare, or lowering costs for working families, he’s attacking millions of Americans who are peacefully coming together to say that America belongs to its people, not to kings,” they added.
