West Virginia’s National Guard commanding officer is pushing back against rumors that the guard is being deployed to conduct law enforcement activities in the state.

Major Gen. James Hoyer, the adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, said Friday during Gov. Jim Justice’s daily update and press conference that rumors that the guard will be deployed in the coming days under a FEMA declaration are false. He referenced a crude, poorly worded flyer with a pixilated National Guard watermark that has been shared across social media not only in West Virginia, but also in other states, as the source of the misinformation.

“I want to let folks know that that information is both false and inappropriate,” he said. “If you have questions or concerns about what the National Guard is doing in the various states under the direction of their governors, I would suggest that you go out, and in the case of West Virginia, go out and look at our website and social media presence.

“We try to be upfront with all the citizens on all the work that we’re doing across the state of West Virginia to address this situation,” he continued. “It does not have anything to do with anything related to law enforcement activities.”

Hoyer said West Virginia State Police and local and county law enforcement agencies are providing law enforcement services in West Virginia.

“We do not need to provide that level of effort,” he added.

Hoyer did say, however, that hundreds of National Guard personnel are already on the ground in West Virginia. He said their activities are primarily community service and humanitarian efforts, including delivering meals to those in need and providing logistical support to state agencies. He said a “surge” of more guard personnel is planned as the coronavirus spread continues and is anticipated to ramp up in West Virginia.

He emphasized, however, that those guard personnel members will continue humanitarian and assistance activities.

“I ask you to quit paying attention to these unfortunate documents that are being put out across the state,” Hoyer said. “The National Guard is surging capacity across agencies to help with the most important things we need to do to address this issue.”

Source: Mountain Top