The Pentagon is reportedly creating a task force specializing in quelling riots and civil disturbances in American cities, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
The “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” would reportedly consist of at least 600 National Guard troops who would begin deploying to cities in an hour’s notice of civil unrest, according to The Post. President Donald Trump has taken interest in establishing law and order in American cities, most recently deploying the National Guard to Washington, D.C., on Monday in order to tackle crime in the district.
During the Los Angeles riots in June, the Pentagon deployed 2,000 National Guardsmen to the city in response to violent anti-immigration enforcement riots. (RELATED: ‘We Stand With The President’: DC Police Union Backs Trump’s Capital City Crime Crackdown)
The task force would be split into two groups of 300 men each, with one group stationed in Arizona and the other stationed in Alabama, according to The Post. Each group would be assigned to respond to disturbances west and east of the Mississippi River respectively.
The program could only be funded as early as fiscal year 2027 through the traditional Pentagon budget process, according to The Post. Cost projections in the documents show the program may cost hundreds of millions of dollars if military aircraft are requisitioned for the project.
Trump has used the military to quell disorder and rioting in the past, previously deploying the National Guard to handle Black Lives Matter riots after the death of George Floyd in 2020.
“The Department of Defense is a planning organization and routinely reviews how the department would respond to a variety of contingencies across the globe. We will not discuss these plans through leaked documents, pre-decisional or otherwise,” a defense official told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.
