Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser requests Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine remove Ohio National Guard from capital

In this image provided by the Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser stands on the rooftop of the Hay Adams Hotel near the White House and looks out at the words 'Black Lives Matter' that have been painted in bright yellow letters on the street by city workers and activists, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Washington. (Executive Office of the Mayor/Khalid Naji-Allah via AP)

In this image provided by the Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser stands on the rooftop of the Hay Adams Hotel near the White House and looks out at the words 'Black Lives Matter' that have been painted in bright yellow letters on the street by city workers and activists, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Washington. Bowser sent Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine a letter Friday requesting DeWine remove Ohio National Guard members sent to the capital to aid federal law enforcement in protest response. (Executive Office of the Mayor/Khalid Naji-Allah via AP)AP

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter Friday to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine requesting he pull all Ohio National Guard troops out of the nation’s capital.

DeWine, a Republican, sent 100 Ohio National Guard troops to Washington at the request of U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to aid in the federal government’s response to ongoing protests. Bowser, a Democrat, has been a vocal critic of Republican President Donald Trump ramping up federal law enforcement in Washington following Trump’s order to tear gas peaceful protesters and clergy to clear the way for a staged photo at a historic church.

“I commend the guardsmen and women from Ohio for rapidly mobilizing to answer the President's request,” Bowser wrote in the letter. “However, as we have increasingly seen in recent days their presence is unnecessary and may be counterproductive to ensuring the protests remain peaceful.”

Bowser’s letter to DeWine came on the heels of another she sent to Trump requesting he remove federal law enforcement from the city.

“Furthermore, I continue to be concerned that unidentified federal personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., pose both safety and national security risks,” Bowser wrote in the letter to Trump. “The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and for reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans.”

Read the letter to DeWine below:

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