FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
September 18, 2025
Contact: Denzel McCampbell, denzel@progressmichigan.org
Progress Michigan to VP Vance’s National Guard Offer for Detroit: “Hell No”
MICHIGAN – On Thursday, Progress Michigan released the following statement regarding Vice President JD Vance’s rally at a Livingston County stamping plant and his offer to deploy the National Guard into Detroit. The statement can be attributed to Denzel McCampbell, Progress Michigan’s managing director:
“Vice President Vance’s threat to send the National Guard into Detroit is nothing more than a racist dog whistle aimed at Black-led and majority Black populated cities. From Memphis to Detroit, to D.C. to Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, this administration has repeatedly targeted communities with large Black populations and Black Democratic mayors to score political points. We’ve seen this type of racist targeting of Black communities before and to it we say: ‘Hell no.’
“The facts from the federal government’s very own FBI tell a different story: violent crime was down nationwide last year. That progress didn’t come from over-policing or fearmongering, but in Detroit it came in large part from Community Violence Intervention programs that stopped violence before it happened. The drop was also due to real investments in people’s lives, through job creation, economic growth through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, and community-based solutions like the Office of Violence Prevention – programs that the Trump Administration has cut.”
“Instead of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on rounding up and targeting our Black and brown neighbors, or deploying the National Guard for absurd stunts like trash pickup, those resources should be invested where they matter most: in our communities. Detroit doesn’t need military occupation, what we need is respect, opportunity, and investment in a safer, stronger, and just future.”
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