Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday ordered a review of the National Guard’s support of law enforcement across the country amid unrest over the death of George Floyd.
“I have full confidence in Secretary of the Army McCarthy to lead a robust review,” he continued. The report’s findings are expected to be submitted to Esper by the end of July, the Pentagon said.
The step follows a mass activation of National Guard forces to help quell protests over the death of Floyd, a black man who died at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis. Earlier this month, about 74,000 Guardsmen had been activated across the US. That’s more than at any other point in recent history, according to the National Guard Bureau.
