Texas Governor Signs Declaration of Disaster

Sunday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott officially declared a state of emergency. The declaration stems from days of protests in Houston and other areas after the death of George Floyd.

With the signing of the declaration, Abbot can now designate federal agents to be peace officers in the state. Since the protests began in the Houston area, Chron says that not only have thousands of Texas troopers have been deployed, but over 1,000 National Guard members have been deployed as well. These troopers and National Guard have been dispersed throughout Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

Over the past weekend, it was reported that 274 demonstrators were arrested. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said that 13 of those arrests were for burglary and looting stores in the area. The other arrests were from protesters blocking roadways. He also told Chron there were 137 arrests from protestors for damaging over a dozen police cars.

The mayor of Houston made a statement to the effect that the residents of Houston have been well-behaved, but encourages them to stay inside over the next few days.