Representative Max Miller, in an op-ed published in the Washington Times that could double as a middle school thesis paper complete with quotations of the Constitution’s preamble, called for the National Guard to be deployed in Cleveland.
Miller, in echoing the sycophantic call of Republicans to militarize Democratic cities across the country after Trump’s deployment of the Guard to the District of Columbia and Memphis, cited public safety as the driving force to localize the boots-on-the-ground movement.
Crime is out of control, he wrote, contrary to stats that have showed Cleveland’s homicide rate declining 26% and nationwide data showing a 17% drop in homicides in the country’s 30 largest cities. (As Justin Bibb argued in an MSNBC op-ed earlier this summer, those improvements are due to the work of Democratic mayors in the face of obstacles and cuts from the Trump administration.)
But Miller, a lifelong suburbanite, isn’t here for that.
Miller is here for a dystopian and false picture of life in Cleveland.
“My constituents in the suburbs are afraid to go into the city. The Cleveland I grew up in is now unrecognizable. Families no longer feel safe walking down the street, and small businesses are being boarded up,” Miller wrote.
While it’s certainly believable that some suburban residents are simply petrified of crossing city limits — like some of those in Rocky River, for example, who are terrified of the handful of homeless people living in the rich west side burg and want to criminalize camping on public property — the contention is simply hyperbolic fear-mongering.
As is the assertion that “small businesses are being boarded up.” (Whether he means in response to or as a precaution against public safety issues isn’t clear, but since neither are happening, it’s a moot point.)
Giving him the absolute benefit of the doubt, he’s referencing the recent shooting in the Flats that led to the closure of Play Bar & Grill. An action taken immediately by Mayor Bibb and the City of Cleveland the night of the shooting, and which was followed by the Flats East Bank landlord terminating the lease of the establishment for repeated violations.
How the National Guard solves that situation better is a good one.
Reactions elsewhere have been admittedly mixed. Cleveland, like Baltimore and Memphis, has a troubled history with policing. Communities that have been disproportionately targeted by law enforcement have voiced concerns in other cities about the prospect of being harassed for low-level infractions. Immigrants remain concerned about arrests. And there’s the whole prospect of authoritarian militarism in America.
“(Dr. Martin Luther) King referred to militarism as a sickness. Unfortunately, this president is full of that sickness,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said recently after Trump threatened once again to send troops to the city. “There are no circumstances under which the deployment of American soldiers should be sent in cities across America. It is actually quite upsetting that this president has seduced a number of American people into his meretricious form of governance that has placed our democracy at incredible risk.”
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee welcomed the move in Memphis — where police just released stats showing crime at a 25-year low — which is a key legal lynchpin. Objections by governors in Illinois and Maryland have so far blocked Trump’s desire to deploy the Guard in Chicago and Baltimore. Which is why Miller wants DeWine to give the green light.
“The people of Cleveland deserve to feel safe again,” Miller wrote. “They deserve to live without fear. The people I represent should be able to go to a Guardians, Browns or Cavs game without fearing for their lives. There is no higher duty of government than this.”
DeWine’s office, in a statement, said Ohio is a home rule state and thus mayors would have to be the ones to invite help.
The City of Cleveland, in a statement, said it welcomes assistance from the state and federal government but in ways that don’t involve the National Guard.
“Reducing crime is this Administration’s top priority. One victim is too many. The most effective way to keep cities safe is through local law enforcement working hand in hand with our communities, the State of Ohio, and our federal partners,” it read. “Just last week, the U.S. Marshals announced yet another successful operation in Cleveland partnering with our Division of Police and other law enforcement agencies with more than 130 violent fugitives arrested, over 3,000 rounds of ammunition seized, and numerous guns and drugs removed from our streets. These are the types of partnerships we need and will continue to advocate for from the federal-level.”
Those partnerships include help from the state as DeWine recently announced multi-agency assistance in Cleveland in coordination with Bibb that will see Highway Patrol and other staff working with local authorities as they have in Cincinnati.
“We can bring in a team involving three or four of our different departments that can help that local community target violent offenders and get them off the street,” DeWine said. “That is something we have frankly perfected in Ohio. It works very well.”
Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed