When state governments and President Donald Trump called on the National Guard to quell protests over the killing of George Floyd, taxpayers ended up footing the bill. And it wasn’t cheap. Ten states have reported spending almost $52 million on deploying Guard personnel to help law enforcement respond to the protests, according to an ongoing Daily Beast analysis. Twenty-four states in total deployed National Guard troops within their own borders. The Daily Beast analysis includes a $19 million cost for the District of Columbia, which included the deployment of personnel from 11 states.The highest costs to date come from Minnesota—the state where Floyd was killed and, consequently, the site of the most vocal protests—with a total cost of about $12.7 million, and Texas with a total cost of $12.8 million. By contrast, Colorado spent just $225,000. The Daily Beast is awaiting cost estimates from a number of states, including Massachusetts, Georgia, Tennessee and California.
