New Orleans
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A National Guard deployment in New Orleans licensed by President Donald Trump will start Tuesday as a part of a heavy safety presence for New Year’s celebrations a year after an attack on revelers on Bourbon Street killed 14 individuals, officers mentioned Monday.
The deployment in New Orleans follows high-profile National Guard missions the Trump administration launched in different cities this year, together with in Washington and Memphis, Tennessee. But the sight of National Guard troops isn’t uncommon in New Orleans, the place troops earlier this year additionally helped bolster safety for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.
“It’s no different than what we’ve seen in the past,” New Orleans police spokesperson Reese Harper mentioned.
The Guard isn’t the one federal legislation enforcement company within the metropolis. Since the beginning of the month, federal brokers have been finishing up an immigration crackdown that has led to the arrest of at the very least a number of hundred individuals.
Harper careworn that the National Guard won’t be partaking in immigration enforcement.
“This is for visibility and just really to keep our citizens safe,” Harper mentioned. “It’s just another tool in the toolbox and another layer of security.”
The Guard is predicted be confined to the French Quarter space well-liked with vacationers and gained’t be partaking in aiding in immigration enforcement, Harper mentioned. Guardsmen will function related to earlier this year after they patrolled the world round Bourbon Street following the vehicle-ramming attack on Jan. 1.
The 350 Guard members will keep by way of Carnival season, when residents and vacationers descend on the Big Easy to partake in costumed celebrations and big parades earlier than ending with Mardi Gras in mid-February.
Louisiana National Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Noel Collins mentioned in a written assertion that the Guard will help native, state, and federal legislation enforcement “to enhance capabilities, stabilize the environment, assist in reducing crime, and restoring public trust.”
In complete, greater than 800 native, state and federal legislation enforcement officers can be deployed in New Orleans to shut off Bourbon Street to vehicular site visitors, patrol the world, conduct bag searches and redirect site visitors, metropolis officers mentioned throughout a information convention Monday.
The additional assist for New Orleans has obtained the help of some Democrats, with Mayor LaToya Cantrell saying she is “welcoming of those added resources.”
The elevated legislation enforcement presence comes a year after Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove round a police blockade within the early hours of Jan. 1 and raced down Bourbon Street, plowing into individuals celebrating New Year’s Day. The attacker, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran who had proclaimed his help for the Islamic State militant group on social media, was fatally shot by police after crashing. After an expansive search, legislation enforcement situated a number of bombs in coolers positioned across the French Quarter. None of the explosive gadgets detonated.
In the fast aftermath of the attack, 100 National Guard members had been despatched to town.
In September, Gov. Jeff Landry requested Trump to ship 1,000 troops to Louisiana cities, citing issues about crime. Democrats pushed again, particularly leaders in New Orleans who mentioned a deployment was unwarranted. They argued that town has really seen a dramatic lower in violent crime charges in recent times.