GOP Rep. Max Miller (Ohio) on Monday urged Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to deploy soldiers from the state’s National Guard to Cleveland in an effort to crack down on crime.
Miller cited President Trump’s deployment of several National Guard members from surrounding states as proof that boots on the ground helps to reduce local crime.
“Some will argue that bringing in the National Guard is an extreme measure. I would argue that allowing lawlessness to continue unchecked is far more extreme. The safety of our citizens is not negotiable,” Miller wrote in a Washington Times op-ed.
“If parents are afraid to let their children play outside, if shop owners fear opening their doors, if commuters dread walking to their cars at night, then we have already failed them. It’s time for action,” he continued.
The Ohio lawmaker said heinous activity in the city has steadily increased since 2023 when 6,100 violent crimes were recorded.
Cleveland currently ranks 7th for homicide nationwide, with 30 homicides per 100,000 residents recorded last year, according to federal data.
City leaders recorded 46 murders in the first six months of 2025.
“Allowing the situation to worsen is a dereliction of our responsibility as lawmakers to protect the law-abiding public,” Miller said.
“We cannot allow violent repeat offenders, kept on the streets because city officials refuse to incarcerate them, to claim more innocent lives, such as that of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, North Carolina, last month.”
Last week, DeWine announced Ohio National Guardsmen would remain in the District through November.
Days later, Trump said soldiers would be on the ground in Tennessee as he established the Memphis Safe Task Force following the recent federal law enforcement crackdown in Washington, D.C.
Miller says Cleveland deserves the same support.
“The people of Cleveland deserve to feel safe again. They deserve to live without fear. The people I represent should be able to go to a Guardians, Browns or Cavs game without fearing for their lives. There is no higher duty of government than this,” Miller wrote.
