Just Say No! To the Ohio National Guard in Our Communities

TAKE 2 SIMPLE ACTIONS EACH DAY (download action alert)

Unite 4 Veterans is out with a new video distinguishing the National Guard from ICE, because Trump has deliberately mixed the two. The video contrasts ugly scenes of an ICE agent tackling a woman whose husband was detained at immigration court, and a group of immigration agents violently arresting another person, with National Guard troops performing humanitarian duties.

“There is a reason our Guardsmen wear their names over their hearts. There is a reason they do not hide their faces. Because, unlike ICE, America’s National Guard serves with pride. With honor,” the ad states.

As the President attempts to force more National Guardsmen and women to become ICE agents, Ohioans need to activate. We can’t be next. We don’t need the U.S. military to invade our cities. We don’t need members of the Ohio Guard — who are also members of our families — to be turned on our communities.

That’s why we’re making one call and sending one email every day, for the next three days, to leadership of the Guard in Ohio.

Join us.

What is this three-day action campaign?

We’re asking everyone we know to take two simple actions, from home, every day over a three day period. Send a message to the leadership of the Ohio National Guard that we DO NOT WANT OR NEED a military presence on the streets of Ohio. Our communities can solve our own problems by working together, not following politicians who want us to turn on each other.

How does the three-day action campaign work?

Start your three days of action any day this week! On Day 1, call and email the Ohio National Guard’s Community Relations Office. On Day 2, call and email Governor DeWine. On Day 3, call and email the Office of the 84th Adjutant General. We’ve provided contact details and a basic script below. If you are prompted to leave a voice mail, leave a message! Don’t forget to tell them where you live.

What should I do next?

After you have made your calls and sent your emails, encourage people in your networks to do the same. Share this action alert and post these social media graphics.

What else can I do to help?

You can also write a letter to the editor for your local paper, explaining why you think deploying the National Guard on Ohio communities is a bad idea. Check out this guide to learn how to write and publish a letter to the editor, and learn more about the issues below.

DAY 1: Ohio National Guard’s Community Relations Office

CONTACT: Community Relations Officer Carl Higginbotham (Carl.N.Higginbotham.civ@army.mil and 614-336-7002)

MESSAGE: My name is X and I live in X. Don’t send the Ohio Guard into Ohio cities. We are in this together. Build bridges and communities, not division and walls.

DAY 2: Governor Mike DeWine

CONTACT: Fill out this form (choose “Veterans Affairs” from the drop-down menu) and call 614-466-3555.

MESSAGE: I don’t want the military to take over Ohio cities. I want us to build communities and bring people together.

DAY 3: Office of Ohio's 84th Adjutant General, Brigadier General Matthew S. Woodruff

The Adjutant General commands the Ohio National Guard and is a member of the Governor’s cabinet.

CONTACT: Public Affairs Office (ng.oh.oharng.mbx.pao@army.mil and 614-336-4499)

MESSAGE: Invading Ohio cities isn’t the job you signed up for. Stay true to your values. Oppose unlawful orders. Be proud of who you are.

Where can I learn more?

“Rep. Miller’s National Guard ploy is divisive, political and dangerous,” Lynn Tramonte, The Land
“Citizens and children, zip-tied in Chicago,” statement, Ohio Immigrant Alliance
The National Guard and ICE: Know the Difference (Unite 4 Veterans)

Why is it bad to have the National Guard patrolling Ohio streets?

The U.S. military is supposed to protect and promote U.S. values, like freedom and democracy, and ensure our national security. Its work is usually conducted in other countries. The National Guard is a reserve branch that does operate within the United States, but typically has a humanitarian mission, like assisting U.S. residents after natural disasters.

But the Trump administration has been using the National Guard like an internal, political police force to carry out its anti-free speech and anti-immigrant agenda in some U.S. cities. This is not the job that members of the National Guard signed up to do, and it’s not the role that our communities want or need from them. What’s more, National Guard members have other jobs and their own families that they are being asked to leave behind, to take on his new mission that they didn’t sign up for.

Ohio has already suffered the tragic consequences of our military being used against our own residents. On May 4, 1970, the Ohio Guard shot and killed four students at Kent State University during a protest against the Vietnam War. The wound has never fully healed; we do not want to repeat this horrible chapter of our state’s history.

We also know that politicians are pushing stunts like this for their own political benefit, not ours. We urge policymakers to stop advancing division and hate, and come to the table across party lines to embrace real solutions to community problems. We know what we need to attack issues like poverty, the lack of affordable healthcare and housing, and crime. That is investment in our children, our infrastructure, our health, and our communities. We can solve our own problems by coming together, and we encourage our leaders to do the same.

Three Days of Action