We live in hell, people.
Weeks into that inaugural June training, one volunteer, a disabled retired Marine Corps captain, called the local sheriff’s office to report he was battered by Florida National Guard instructors when they forcibly shoved him into a van after he questioned the program and its leadership.
[...]
In a statement, Haas said the State Guard was a “military organization” that will be used not just for emergencies but for “aiding law enforcement with riots and illegal immigration.”
[...]
On the first day of training, Newhouse said he was escorted off the base after lodging several complaints, including that the National Guard’s schedule required training on Sundays, instead of allowing members to use those days for religious services and personal time, as was the original plan.
Edit: Oh my god, it gets worse:
That month, state lawmakers and the governor revealed that they wanted to assign the State Guard $89 million to buy boats, planes and helicopters. They wanted a specialized unit within the guard to have police powers and the ability to carry weapons.
And they wanted to boost the State Guard to 1,500 members. Instead of being activated only during emergencies within Florida, they could be sent to any state to “protect and defend the people of Florida from threats to public safety.”
[...]
DeSantis, a presidential candidate, has sent Florida National Guard members and state law enforcement officers to the Texas border, and has said he is willing to work with like-minded Republican governors and sheriffs to do more state-led efforts at the southern border.
“I think states need to be more aggressive,” DeSantis said in terms of taking action on federal immigration enforcement.
This is incredibly fascist and illegal, right? If DeSantis becomes president, we are going to have a civil war.