Fact check: Did the governor of california ask for the national guard in 1992 during the rodney king riots

1. Summary of the results

Yes, Governor Pete Wilson did request the National Guard during the 1992 Rodney King riots. Specifically, he ordered the deployment at 8:45 PM on April 29th ^[1], immediately after Mayor Tom Bradley called a local state of emergency ^[2]. The request was made directly to President George H.W. Bush, who subsequently activated the National Guard ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial details are missing from the original question:

• The initial deployment involved 2,000 reserve soldiers ^[2], but the situation escalated to include:

3,500 federal troops

10,000 National Guard members who were federalized ^[4]

• There were significant logistical challenges in the deployment:

Despite the 8:45 PM order, the first 2,000 troops didn't arrive until approximately seven hours later ^[1]

The decision involved multiple levels of authority:

• Mayor Tom Bradley's initial emergency declaration
• Governor Wilson's request
• President Bush's activation and federalization ^{[3] [5]}

The context of the deployment was specifically related to the acquittal of police officers in the Rodney King beating case ^[6]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question oversimplifies what was actually a complex chain of command and decision-making process. It's important to note that:

• The deployment wasn't a unilateral decision by the governor - it involved coordination between:

Mayor Bradley at the local level

Governor Wilson at the state level

President Bush at the federal level ^{[3] [5]}

The question might imply a simple request-and-deploy scenario, when in reality there were significant operational delays and logistical challenges in getting troops on the ground ^[1]