**AUSTIN, TEXAS — **"Amid reports that Governor Greg Abbott authorized the deployment of several hundred Texas national guard members to suppress protests in Illinois and Oregon at President Donald Trump’s command, Texas House of Representatives Minority Leader Rep. Gene Wu issued the following statement:
“Our fellow Americans are not military targets. Governor Abbott’s willingness to weaponize our Guard against Americans exercising their constitutional rights marks a dangerous new chapter in his surrender of Texan sovereignty to federal overreach.
“Members of the Texas National Guard signed up to protect Texas communities, but Greg Abbott is offering them up as shock forces to intimidate Americans protesting their government – a direct attack on our fundamental right to free speech. The Texas I know and love was built on the freedom to speak truth to power and stand up to tyrants, not on governors who brag online about their submission to wannabe dictators.”