Texas to Deploy National Guard Troops to 5 Major Cities For Nov. 3 Election

Texas will send 1,000 Army National Guard troops to five major cities in the state to coincide with the November 3 General Election, a spokesman for the Texas Guard said on Monday. The five cities are Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. The troops will likely start hitting those cities beginning this weekend.

Although a formal announcement is expected from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott later this week, Guard commander Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris had already been directed to draft contingency plans for the cities in case there was trouble, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Guard spokesman Brandon Jones didn’t give detailed plans of the operation, but said the troops could be sent this weekend—just days ahead of the presidential election.

Abbott is expecting some kind of trouble and doesn’t want to talk about it.