Senators dismiss idea to use Guard for campus protests
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators dismissed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s suggestion to send the National Guard to college campuses to quell growing protests against the war in Gaza and U.S. support for Israel.
“I don’t know if you need to call in the National Guard, maybe you just call in the police,” said Senator J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican and one of several lawmakers from both parties expressing reservations. Vance spoke on “Fox News Sunday.”
Sending the National Guard to campuses would evoke painful memories of the violent era of campus protest against the Vietnam War, specifically at Kent State University, Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
In 1970, the National Guard shot into a group of protesters at Ohio’s Kent State, killing four students.
“I think that would be a very, very bad idea,” Kaine said of deploying the National Guard. There are ways to manage the protests using campus security, Kaine said, and also by “offering students more opportunities to have dialogue that is civil and constructive where people hear one another.”
Lawmakers said control of demonstrations should start with local police or school officials, while others added universities should encourage constructive dialogue among students.
Last week, Speaker Johnson condemned pro Palestinian protests during a visit to Columbia University, saying there would be an “appropriate” role for the National Guard if the demonstrations were not quickly contained.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have intensified as criticism of U.S. support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza grows. Protesters are gathering across college campuses across the country, setting up encampments on school grounds and demanding the administrations divest from entities that support Israel and the war.
Some colleges have responded by bringing in police, at times arresting demonstrating students and professors.