Infowars – by Paul Joseph Watson
Video footage sent to Infowars by a listener in Staunton, Virginia shows armed National Guard troops carrying out maneuvers near a public playground yesterday morning.
“This was a Sunday morning exercise. They appeared to be heading to carry out PT (physical training) at some other location,” the man who shot the video tells us. “This was in a city park and people were walking, jogging, and enjoying the playground with their children.”
“What struck me were the M1As or M16s they were carrying (whether real or plastic) I could not tell the difference. I drove up as close as possible to them as they turned to my left onto the sidewalk,” he adds.
One of the soldiers confirms that they are part of the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which is currently assigned to the Virginia Army National Guard and is based out of the Thomas Howie Memorial Armory in Staunton, Virginia. The troops were filmed at Gypsy Hill Park, which is situated next to the Armory.
The Guard troops behave in a friendly manner and are willing to engage in casual conversation, but some have expressed concerns about armed personnel conducting maneuvers in public, suggesting that such activity should be done on base.
Others insist that the activity is perfectly routine and nothing to be worried about.
Last week, we featured a video out of Ontario, California which showed National Guard troops marching down a residential street while chanting military cadence and performing traffic control drills. Some locals claimed that such public drills were not commonplace.
Concerns about military personnel operating in public places are heightened in anticipation of the nationwide Jade Helm military exercise, a drill which will revolve around soldiers operating “undetected amongst civilian populations,” to see if they can infiltrate without being noticed.
A National Guard exercise based around dealing with civil unrest after a dirty bomb attack in Richmond, California which took place earlier this month featured role players acting as angry Americans yelling ‘right-wing’ rhetoric.
Footage captured by a local shows Guard troops pushing irate citizens away with batons before one of the protest group states, “I’m a sovereign citizen, I refuse to recognize you guys, I refuse to recognize you.”
Disturbing video out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida last month also showed military and law enforcement practicing the internment of citizens during martial-law style training.
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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.
Why does the first video look like a bunch of High School ROTC kids ?