On Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker called up 1,000 members of the state’s National Guard, but several city leaders in the Valley don’t anticipate asking for troops in the area.
“Governor Baker today signed an order activating up to 1,000 members of the Massachusetts National Guard in the event that municipal leaders require their assistance,” a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said. “National Guard personnel are deployed only at the request of, and in coordination with, the communities seeking support.”
It’s not clear why Baker signed the order. The public safety spokesperson did not respond Monday when asked why the decision was made. The order came after Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, allegedly killed two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last week at a protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.
In reaction to the governor’s order, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse said in a statement that “Holyoke has always been, and will continue to be, a welcoming community for those who wish to express their beliefs and their frustrations with our criminal justice system.”
Mike Sullivan, South Hadley town administrator, said he’s not looking for any National Guard presence at protests.
“We’re not looking to have anybody come in and quell demonstrations or protests or anything of that manner,” Sullivan said. “There are a couple groups who have regular protests in regards to some of the national issues that are occurring. We’re fine with it. They’ve never been problematic.”
But, he said, the National Guard could be helpful in other ways. Earlier this year, “they actually came in and tested at a local nursing home all the patients and all the staff when there was a concentrated outbreak (of COVID-19). That was certainly helpful.”
Since Mayor Nicole LaChapelle has been in office, the National Guard hasn’t been called in to Easthampton.
“Nor do we foresee the use of National Guard in the city. I don’t see myself asking,” she said Monday. “I would hope-slash-speculate that the governor’s calling up of the National Guard would be around medical need with the school districts, departments starting to being back,” she said, adding “there may be need for quick testing or responding to hot spots.”
Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz echoed LaChapelle.
“The city has not made a request for any National Guard personnel to come to our city, and I don’t anticipate any call for that in the near future,” he said. He said he had not received information from the governor about why he activated the Guard.
State House News Service reported Monday that if Guard members have been deployed, it wasn’t clear where they went. Boston reporter Litsa Pappas tweeted a video of what looks like dozens of National Guard members in Boston on Sunday.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.