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AP Sources: White House Softens on Sending Troops to States

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - After threatening states that he would dispatch the
   military to quell protests, President Donald Trump appeared to be
   privately backing off, with White House officials saying the response
   to demonstrations across the country indicated that local governments
   should be able to restore order themselves.
   The shift came as protests in Washington and other cities over police
   brutality against minorities proceeded Tuesday with relative calm, a
   striking contrast to the harsh crackdowns outside the White House on
   Monday night. The president wanted to make the aggressive action in the
   nation's capital an example for the rest of the country, a senior White
   House official said Tuesday.
   The Defense Department has drafted contingency plans for deploying
   active-duty military if needed. Pentagon documents reviewed by The
   Associated Press showed plans for soldiers from an Army division to
   protect the White House and other federal buildings if the security
   situation in the nation's capital were to deteriorate and the National
   Guard could not secure the facilities.
   But interest in exerting that extraordinary federal authority appeared
   to be waning in the White House. Though the crackdown on the Washington
   demonstrations was praised by some Trump supporters Tuesday, a handful
   of Republicans expressed concern that law enforcement officers risked
   violating the protesters' First Amendment rights. Trump's defense
   secretary also distanced himself from Trump's decision to walk across
   Lafayette Park for a photo opportunity at a church after the
   demonstrators had been cleared.

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