Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Sunday afternoon he was drawing down the National Guard troops he called into Baltimore on Tuesday amid riots and protests following the funeral of Freddie Gray. “We’ve already started withdrawal of the guard,” Hogan said at a brief news conference, according to the Associated Foreign Press. “The trucks are pulling out this morning. It’s going to take a little bit of a while.” As of Saturday afternoon, some 3,000 troops had been utilized, according to a release from the governor’s office. The governor’s announcement came just hours after Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake lifted the city’s…
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Sunday afternoon he was drawing down the National Guard troops he called into Baltimore on Tuesday amid riots and protests following the funeral of Freddie Gray.
“We’ve already started withdrawal of the guard,” Hogan said at a brief news conference, according to the Associated Foreign Press. “The trucks are pulling out this morning. It’s going to take a little bit of a while.”
As of Saturday afternoon, some 3,000 troops had been utilized, according to a release from the governor’s office.
The governor’s announcement came just hours after Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake lifted the city’s five-day-old curfew Sunday morning.
The mayor tweeted the update shortly after 10:30 a.m. local time:
Effective immediately, I have rescinded my order instituting a city-wide curfew.
I want to thank the people of Baltimore for their patience.— Mayor Rawlings-Blake (@MayorSRB) May 3, 2015
Hogan noted that he thought lifting the Baltimore curfew was “a good idea,” according to The Hill.
After the unrest that followed Gray’s funeral Monday, Rawlings-Blake declared later that night that the curfew would begin Tuesday. The same day, Hogan declared a state of emergency, which remains in effect.
Baltimore’s 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. citywide emergency curfew was originally expected to last a full week. On Sunday, Rawlings-Blake explained:
My goal has always been to not have the curfew in place a single day longer than was necessary. I believe we have reached that point today.
— Mayor Rawlings-Blake (@MayorSRB) May 03 2015
Protests began after Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died after suffering a spinal injury in Baltimore police custody. Gray had no apparent injuries when he was arrested on April 12, but was put into a police van and later arrived at the station with severe spinal injuries. Gray died the following week.
On Friday, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that six Baltimore police officers had been criminally charged with Gray’s death.
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Maryland Governor Draws Down National Guard As Baltimore Mayor Lifts Citywide Curfew
