Emergency Statement: South Carolinians Condemn the Deployment of the S.C. National Guard to D.C.

We remind our leaders: Your power comes from the people, not from the threat of force.

August 17, 2025

Emergency Statement: South Carolinians Condemn the Deployment of the S.C. National Guard to D.C.

We unequivocally condemn yesterday's announcement that Governor Henry McMaster is sending the South Carolina National Guard to Washington, D.C. to support the regime's agenda.

The deployment of the National Guard and militarized forces into the streets of Washington, D.C. — our nation's capital, the symbolic heart of American democracy — is an authoritarian move cloaked in the language of "order."

This isn't about security or peace or order. This is about power. This is about silencing dissent through intimidation.

Tanks and troops do not belong on our streets.

We will not stand for the militarization of our nation's capital, nor for the military being weaponized against our people.

The militarization of D.C. is not a show of strength. It's a show of fear. It's a government afraid of its own people. This is what creeping authoritarianism looks like. This is what happens when elected leaders forget who they are supposed to serve and decide to rule by force.

We refuse to accept the normalization of military presence in civilian life. Washington, D.C. is not a war zone. Our people are not the enemy. The National Guard was not created to patrol city blocks in peacetime, to menace homeless people and protestors, or to send a political message.

Every soldier deployed against civilians weakens the foundation of our republic.

We reject the notion that military intervention is a legitimate answer to the fake crisis Trump claims is happening in D.C. When our government turns its uniformed forces inward against its own citizens, it risks not only escalating tensions, but undermining the public's trust in the institutions meant to serve them.

We demand:

• An immediate withdrawal of all military forces from Washington, D.C.

• Accountability from SC Governor Henry McMaster and his counterparts in West Virginia and Ohio who have confirmed they are also sending the National Guard to D.C.

• A reaffirmation from our elected leaders to uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution

We call on elected leaders at every level to denounce this militarization of our public life.

We remind our leaders: Your power comes from the people, not from the threat of force.

Signed,

50501 SC
York County Rising
50501 NC
General Strike US Carolinas
Voices of Florida