Gov. Greg Abbott will deploy the Texas Department of Public Safety and National Guard in anticipation of Saturday’s second “No Kings” Protest, announced in a news release Thursday.

“Violence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas,” Abbott said in the release. “Today, I directed the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas National Guard to deploy all necessary law enforcement officials and resources to ensure the safety of Austin residents.”

The protest is organized by Hands Off Central TX, a grassroots political organization that also helped organize the “No Kings” protest over the summer, which drew over 10,000 people in Austin. The nationwide protests fight for more power in the hands of the people and against dictatorship, according to the No Kings website. 

The release linked Antifa, an anti-fascist ideology which the White House recently classified as a domestic terrorist organization, to the protests.

“Texas will deter criminal mischief and work with local law enforcement to arrest anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property,” Abbott said in the release.

Members of the Austin Police Department’s Dialogue Police Team, a group of officers in blue vests that answer questions and assist demonstrators, will be on site to ensure safety, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis wrote in a statement. She said the police department will take appropriate action to respond to illegal activity that threatens others’ safety or damages property.

“The Austin Police Department fully supports and upholds our community’s constitutional right to peacefully assemble,” Davis wrote in the statement. “Safeguarding these freedoms and ensuring the safety of everyone, including demonstrators, bystanders, and officers, is fundamental to our mission.”

Sophia Mirto, President of Hands Off Central TX, said the organization is disappointed Texas is spending valuable taxpayer money to deploy the National Guard. 

“We are disappointed that the governor saw fit to spend more taxpayer money on policing a First Amendment nonviolent event,” Mirto said. 

Mirto said Hands Off Central TX is not organizing illegally or breaking the law. During the protests, participants will walk from the Texas Capitol to Auditorium Shores at Lady Bird Lake. 

“We have permits from the State Board of Preservation and the Austin Parks Department for the event at the Texas State Capitol, the march and the event at Auditorium Shores,” Mirto said. 

In June, during the first “No Kings Day,” Abbott also authorized additional personnel, resulting in a few arrests in Austin, according to Houston Public Media. Despite this, Austin’s June protests were largely peaceful, according to the Austin Police Department. 

According to the press release, DPS is actively monitoring the Austin protest, “as well as any other potential violent demonstrations across the state.” Approximately 100 protests are scheduled across Texas, according to No Kings, and the news release does not mention national guard deployment to other cities.

Texas Senator Sarah Eckhardt, who represents Travis County, said in a statement that attendees of Saturday’s rally should feel “safe to gather without fear.”

“No Kings Day is about assembling on common ground around the shared belief that we do not answer to one person or one party in the majority at the moment,” Eckhardt wrote in a statement to the Texan.

Eckhardt said the protests are to protect the rights and abilities of Americans.

“That’s the kind of harm the Governor should be calling out,” Eckhardt said. “Leaders respond to crises, not distract from them.”