The Libertarian Party of West Virginia is opposing Governor Patrick Morrisey’s recent decision to send West Virginia National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., following a request from the Trump administration to help with public safety patrols.
In a press release Tuesday, August 19, the party said that while the move “may have some popularity within the party that controls WV politics, it flies in the face of the proper constitutional role of our Guard.”
“Our National Guard exists to protect West Virginia, not to be dispatched at the whim of federal politicians for operations outside our state,” said Taylor Richmond, Chair of the Libertarian Party of West Virginia. “When our citizens need assistance with floods, storms, or emergencies, those soldiers should be here and not serving as pawns in federal power struggles.”
The statement follows Morrisey’s announcement on August 16 that between 300 and 400 Guard members, along with mission‑essential equipment, would be deployed to support federal operations in Washington, D.C. The announcement came days after President Trump activated 800 members of the D.C. National Guard and moved to place the city’s police department under federal control.
According to the party’s statement, the decision underscores the urgent need for the Defend the Guard movement, which seeks to prohibit the deployment of state National Guard units into active combat or federal service without a formal declaration of war by Congress. It argued that the Founders vested the power to declare war solely with Congress, “not the President, and not state governors acting under federal pressure.”
Party spokesperson Dustin Blankenship added that sending troops to Washington for “political theater” undermines both state sovereignty and individual liberty. He urged West Virginians to press their representatives to support Defend the Guard legislation, calling it a safeguard against “misuse of our citizen soldiers.”
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