The US government has deployed Rapid Deployment Teams ahead of Independence Day celebrations on July 4th to protect monuments and other property from vandalism, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st July, 2020) The US government has deployed Rapid Deployment Teams ahead of Independence Day celebrations on July 4th to protect monuments and other property from vandalism, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement on Wednesday.
"As we approach the July 4th holiday, I have directed the deployment and pre-positioning of Rapid Deployment Teams (RDT) across the country to respond to potential threats to facilities and property," Wolf said. "While the Department respects every American's right to protest peacefully, violence and civil unrest will not be tolerated."
Wolf also said the US government has created the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT) to coordinate efforts to defend monuments, memorials, statues and Federal facilities from vandalism and destruction.
"DHS [Department of Homeland Security] is answering the President's call to use our law enforcement personnel across the country to protect our historic landmarks," Wolf said. "We will not stand idly by while violent anarchists and rioters seek not only to vandalize and destroy the symbols of our nation, but to disrupt law and order and sow chaos in our communities."
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing law enforcement to protect monuments from acts of vandalism and destruction. Trump signed the order after far left activists vandalized or took down a number of statues across the United States, including the statues of Confederate generals and soldiers, but also of George Washington, Ulysses Grant, Francis Scott Key and others. The activists have argued the people represented by the statues were slave owners and racists.
According to Trump's executive order, individuals found guilty of vandalizing statues and monuments can face prison terms of ten years .
