There are as many National Guard members activated in the US as there are active duty troops in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan
Updated 11:48 PM ET, Mon June 1, 2020
As thousands across the US take to the streets for another day of protests demanding justice for George Floyd, more than 17,000 members of the National Guard are standing ready to support local law enforcement.
That represents approximately the same number of active duty troops deployed in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
As of Monday, nearly half of the US has activated guard members to respond to civil unrest.
Members of California National Guard patrol, Sunday, May 31, 2020, in Los Angeles.
On top of the District of Columbia, the 23 states that have activated the National Guard are: Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Additionally, about 45,000 National Guard members are supporting the Covid-19 response across all 50 states, three territories and D.C., bringing the total number of activated National Guard soldiers and airmen to 66,700.
The Pennsylvania National Guard mobilizes in Philadelphia on June 1, 2020.
President Donald Trump said Monday in the Rose Garden that the United States is taking new measures to quell riots across the United States.
"First we are ending the riots and lawlessness that has spread throughout our country," Trump said, adding that he's strongly recommended to governors to deploy the National Guard to "dominate the streets."