Defense secretary urges governors to call on National Guard and 'dominate the battlespace'

Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Defense Secretary Mark Esper is adopting the language of war to address nationwide protests against police brutality.

President Trump held a call with U.S. governors on Monday after a weekend of protests following the death of George Floyd in police custody. Trump used alarmingly violent language during the call as he told governors to "dominate" protesters, and Esper repeated that tone as he instructed governors to call on the National Guard to "dominate the battlespace."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.