 |
| @GregAbbott_TX shows Department of Public Safety officers protecting the Alamo in San Antonio from protest on June 11 |
Austin Mayor and Police Chief Say City Can
Handle Protest Without National Guard Aid
Capitol Inside
June 12, 2025
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson sought on Thursday to distance the city from the political theater that Governor Greg Abbott is trying to create with the deployment of National Guard members to
the Capitol City for an anti-deportation protest this weekend in a move that he portrayed as overkill.
"I want you to know that was not my decision or anyone's at the city - nor do we think it's necessary," Watson said at a press conference with Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.
Watson and Davis said the local police department had sufficient resources to handle the demonstration that's set for Saturday in a safe and effective manner without the need for a military presence like the governor has said he plans to have in place here.
Davis said she didn't want local officers to have to make arrests or to use force at the event here during the weekend - a dramatic contrast to the governor who's threatened to have Department of Public Safety and Texas National Guard troops apprehend and jail protesters who get out of line. Davis promised that "unlawful violent activity by agitators" would not be tolerated at the event.
As city officials insisted that local law enforcement was well-equipped for the protest that organizers are billing as No King's Day, at least a dozen black DPS SUVs were seen heading at fairly high speeds to the south through the Texas Hill Country on Thursday on highways that lead to Austin and San Antonio. A protest is set for Saturday in the Alamo City as well.
Dozens of DPS officers were armed with billy clubs and clad in riot gear on Wednesday night in downtown San Antonio where protesters assembled in a peaceful show of solidarity with counterparts in LA. Abbott said the San Antonio police department had worked in tandem with the DPS at the event.
"Last night, DPS proudly stood alongside our partners
@SATXPolice
to maintain order and protect state property as demonstrators exercised their First Amendment rights near San Antonio City Hall and the Alamo," the DPS said in a post on X. "DPS continues tracking planned protests across Texas this week, and our men and women stand ready to enforce the law and assist our law enforcement partners in whatever capacity necessary."
Abbott lauded the state police for "great work" in the Alamo City last night. "Don't mess with Texas law enforcement. We’ll continue to uphold law & order."
The Republican governor followed the lead of President Donald Trump this week when he announced plans to deploy the Guard to Texas cities for protests later on the same day that the White House ordered 700 active U.S. Marines to Los Angeles for anti-ICE demonstrations in the downtown area.
Watson, a Democrat who served in the Texas Senate, didn't criticize Abbott or Trump by name while blasting the motives behind the protests response. "Do not become a tool in someone else's production of chaos," the mayor warned.
"Much of what you see out of Washington is an attempt to create fear and chaos," Watson said. "We should not play into these politics of fear.
"In Austin, we value the humanity of our immigrant community," Watson added. "And we recognize the fear some want to create in that community. I want us to mitigate, reduce or eliminate that fear and not play into that sort of politics."
"We must continue to assert our First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and express our point of view without creating or adding to the negative consequences for real people already living in fear."
more to come ...
| 
