(Pierre, SD) — A South Dakota lawmaker is blasting Governor Larry Rhoden’s decision to send National Guard troops to Washington, DC, calling it political theater. Democratic Representative Erik Muckey argues the Guard should be used for disasters at home, not to patrol a city that’s reportedly seeing a 30-year low in violent crime. He questions why then-Governor Kristi Noem never deployed troops in response to last year’s flooding in southeastern South Dakota, but the state is deciding to do it now for DC. Rhoden has defended the move, saying it supports President Trump’s effort to make the nation’s capital safer. The federally funded deployment is expected to last 30 days.
