FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has activated the state's Emergency Operations Center ahead of planned protests this weekend, while criticizing President Donald Trump's use of military in California.
"Everything we're seeing thus far suggests all of this is going to be peaceful," Beshear said. "If you're going out to protest on Saturday, that is your right."
Beshear encouraged protesters to remain peaceful and conclude their activities before nightfall.
"We've seen in the past how other groups can come in, especially at night, and turn what was a peaceful protest aimed at change into something that looks very different," Beshear added.
The governor's comments come as tensions have escalated in Los Angeles, where mostly peaceful protests against ICE raids have occasionally turned confrontational, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement.
President Trump federalized the California National Guard and deployed Marines to the area—a move California's governor has called unnecessary.
Beshear believes the president should defer to local authorities in such situations.
"We all want law and order but you ought to go about it in a way that works. A president certainly shouldn't call up a state's national guard without talking to the governor, much less getting their consent to do it," Beshear said.
When asked about his position on deportations, Beshear acknowledged that illegal immigration violates the law but expressed concerns about enforcement methods.
"People should think about the look and the feel about a military type of vehicle pulling up in your neighborhood in the middle of the night with people jumping out in black masks and grabbing someone that could then end up in a detention center not close by, but somewhere around the country very quickly. And that could be an American citizen. That could be somebody who is here legally," Beshear said.
