Well, that's fucking ominous.

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has ordered the state’s national guard to deploy to the city of San Antonio ahead of immigration-related protests planned for this week, saying the soldiers are “on standby”.

Abbott posted on social media early on Wednesday that the national guard “will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order. Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.”

The Texas national guard, he added, “will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order”.

Abbott’s move to mobilize troops follows Donald Trump’s decision on Saturday to send the California national guard into Los Angeles after some limited and mostly peaceful protests against immigration raids. California leaders described the sending of the troops, and then 700 US marines, as a deliberate provocation.

Prior restraint, but with guns!