![]() In a story for, neither the Pentagon nor the National Guard bureau would comment on the fact that National Guard soldiers, supposedly sworn to uphold the Constitution, are now mercenaries for hire, at the disposal of anti-immigrant billionaires. While the US government regularly hires fascistic private military death squads, such as Blackwater or Northern Red Inc., to train US police or deploy mercenaries in neocolonial imperialist wars overseas, it is historically unprecedented for a billionaire to simply pay a state government to deploy soldiers in another state for political reasons. Johnson, who plans to support either Trump, Noem or DeSantis for president in 2024, described his actions as “helping America,” adding that he thinks “that people can come to America, I love America, but it’s gotta be under the law, not under some president who can just say ‘we’re opening the borders up’.” ![]() “I thought, you got two big states in it, now you got a smaller state doing it, I thought I might as well help out. “I seen (sic) what Governor Abbott was doing down there in Texas,” Johnson told the online magazine. In an interview with the Daily Beast, Johnson confirmed that he reached out to Noem, after he heard that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had agreed to send police officers to Texas. According to a 2018 IRS form, the Willis and Reba Johnson’s Fund also donated $1.15 million to a Tennessee Baptist church and $25,000 to the National Rifle Association. Johnson is a Republican mega-donor, who gave more than $350,000 towards Trump’s reelection campaign and nearly $180,000 to the Republican National Committee in the last two years. ![]() According to Forbes, Johnson’s net worth as of today is $2.2 billion. Willis Johnson confirmed he had made the “donation” but refused to reveal the total amount.Ĭopart Inc., founded in 1982, dominates the automotive salvage and auction industry in the US, where it enjoys close relationships with major insurers State Farm, Allstate, Nationwide and Farmers. In short interviews with the Daily Beast, Politico, USA Today and the Washington Post, billionaire chairman of Copart Inc. While forces from the border states may occasionally play a backup role within their own states, police and troops from other states have never before been mobilized to the border, without a federal request.Įven more remarkable, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem announced that “up to 50” National Guard soldiers would be sent to Texas, with their deployment “paid for by a private donation.”Ī spokesman for Noem, Ian Fury, confirmed to multiple news outlets that the donation came from the Willis and Reba Johnson Foundation, located in Franklin, Tennessee. Patrolling the US border has always been a federal responsibility. While the numbers are small, the action has great political significance. ![]() Iowa and Nebraska each have already each sent 25 state patrol officers to the border, while the Iowa National Guard still has 24 soldiers deployed to Texas under a federally-funded activation in response to a Trump administration request from October 2020. “My hope is that our 90 days of support will improve the security of our country and reduce the adverse impact of illegal immigration on Arkansas,” he said. South Carolina: The morning Trump arrived in Texas, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster tweeted that he had authorized “over 300” National Guard soldiers to be deployed to the border.Īrkansas: Governor Asa Hutchinson has authorized a 90-day deployment of up to 40 National Guardsmen. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Ī quick summary of some of the announced deployments:įlorida: Earlier in June Governor Ron DeSantis pledged to send 50 police officers “because of the failure of the Biden administration to secure our southern border and indeed to really do anything constructive about what is going on in the southern border.” Greg Abbott, right, visit an unfinished section of border wall, in Pharr, Texas, Wednesday, June 30, 2021. Former President Donald Trump, left, and Texas Gov. ![]()
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