Utah Governor Gary Herbert has activated the National Guard to tackle unrest in downtown Salt Lake City, where the mayor issued an 8pm curfew amid widening anti-police-brutality protests.
Herbert directed the National Guard to “help control the escalating situation” in Salt Lake City, while calling on protesters to behave peacefully.
“We are in close contact with our Department of Public Safety and receiving regular updates,” the governor said.
Herbert’s announcement came around the same time as Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall issued an 8pm curfew.
Dozens of patrol cars and several armored police vehicles were deployed to the scene of the protests.
Previously, a curfew was imposed in downtown Philadelphia and Los Angeles, after protests there escalated into riots with sporadic looting and vandalism. The National Guard has been deployed in Minneapolis for several days now, but has so far failed to quell the unrest as people rallying in the streets ignore the curfew orders.
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