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Washington • Utah National Guard soldiers and other forces from states deployed to the nation’s capital were forced out of their hotels on Friday morning in what Sen. Mike Lee called an eviction by an “ungrateful mayor.”
The mayor of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, said this week that she wanted National Guard troops out of the district, which has seen days of protests — some of which have been violent — over racial injustice and the death of black Americans at police hands.
The Utah Guard had until noon Eastern Time to depart their hotel and lodging and other accommodations were “still up in the air for this evening,” said Lee's spokesman Conn Carroll.
“This is a political choice by the mayor's office to cancel a contract for lodging between D.C. and the Guard,” Carroll said.
“Just heard that Mayor Bowser is kicking the Utah National Guard out of all DC hotels tomorrow. More than 1,200 troops from 10 states are being evicted. This is unacceptable,” Lee tweeted Thursday night.
“These brave men and women have risked their lives protecting DC for three days,” the Utah Republican added in another tweet. “Rioting, looting, arson, and vandalism have all disappeared [because] these soldiers served. And now they are being kicked to the curb by an ungrateful mayor. This must be stopped.”
Bowser’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment but the mayor tweeted back at Lee that the district wasn’t going to fund hotel rooms for troops it doesn’t want in the city.
“Senator — until they are recalled home — which I have formally requested from the President, your troops are in DC hotels," Bowser tweeted. "However, DC residents cannot pay their hotel bills. The Army can clear that up with the hotel today, and we are willing to help.“
The federal district had not requested National Guard troops; they were sent by the Pentagon as President Donald Trump called for more military action to halt the protests.
Some 4,500 National Guard soldiers have been deployed in the nation's capital, from at least 10 states. Utah's troops were some of the first on the ground, though they have stressed they're in a support role for federal and local law enforcement and not policing the city.
The Utah National Guard’s Maj. Brent Mangum said early Friday he couldn’t comment on the soldiers’ logistics or accommodations.
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June 05, 2020 at 10:07PM
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Utah National Guard troops deployed to D.C. evicted from hotel, Sen. Mike Lee says - Salt Lake Tribune
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