Gov gets Guard going in state
Baker issues mobilization order as national tension high
Gov. Charlie Baker has activated up to 1,000 members of the Massachusetts National Guard, “in the event that municipal leaders” need the backup, public safety officials said as protests rage elsewhere in the nation.
Baker signed the order activating members of the Guard Friday evening as reaction to the latest police shooting — this time in Kenosha, Wis. — spread from the heartland to professional sports.
“Governor Baker today signed an order activating up to 1,000 members of the Massachusetts National Guard in the event that municipal leaders require their assistance. National Guard personnel are deployed only at the request of, and in coordination with, the communities seeking support,” said a state public safety spokesman.
The Herald has also learned that a protest is planned for Sunday before noon outside the State House over Baker’s order that all schoolchildren must have taken a flu vaccination by the end of the year.
The Department of Public Health announced last week students of all ages are now required to get a flu vaccine by Dec. 31 in order to attend school, unless medically or religiously exempt.
A Facebook page has been posted promoting that event, reportedly sponsored by “No Mandatory Flu Shot MA.” A pastor is also calling for prayer around 10 a.m. in a show of “peaceful” protest.
This weekend’s Caribbean Festival in Boston has also been called off, due to continued concerns about the coronavirus.
The Guard was last called in earlier this summer after protests in late May turned violent, with businesses in Boston being looted and a police cruiser torched. The soldiers left about a week later after protests over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer cooled.
A 15-year-old has been charged with lighting a Boston Police cruiser on fire the night of the May 31 protest in the city, police report.
Members of the Guard also helped hand out food in hard-it Chelsea during the pandemic in the late spring to help local officials who were trying to keep up with demand.
The scene in Wisconsin raged into the middle of this past week. A 17-year-old who says he went to protests in Kenosha to protect businesses and people is now charged in the killing of two protesters and the wounding of a third.
Those protests came after a Black father was shot multiple times Sunday during a domestic call. His family says he’s paralyzed and may never walk again.
That shooting compelled NBA players to postpone playoff games until this weekend. Major League Baseball and the NHL and WNBA also took part in boycotting games.