Cooper Activates NC National Guard Amid 'Security Concerns'

WFAE | By Bryan Anderson / Associated Press / Report for America

Published January 13, 2021 at 5:33 PM EST

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is seen during a June 24, 2020, briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.

RALEIGH — Nearly 550 members of the North Carolina National Guard have been mobilized in light of concerns over security in the state and nation’s capital, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday.

Cooper, a Democrat, is sending 200 guardsmen to the nation's capital to assist local and civil authorities before and during President-elect Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration. North Carolina is one of dozens of states sending personnel to Washington, D.C.

Cooper said the other 350 other guardsmen will remain for duty in North Carolina.

Guardsmen will be deployed for about a week.

“Ongoing security concerns in Washington, D.C., and state capitals around the nation following last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol must be taken seriously, and I will deploy necessary resources to keep North Carolinians safe," Cooper wrote.

Increased threats of violence at state capitols across the country have emerged since a mob of violent supporters of President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an unsuccessful insurrection attempt that resulted in the deaths of five people.

Erik Hooks, state secretary of the Department of Public Safety, warned on Tuesday of "potential eventualities” and wants to ensure the state “maintains a high level of vigilance.”

Anderson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.