SANTA BARBARA A letter being circulated within the community supposedly authored by the National Guard has been deemed fake, police said.
The Santa Barbara Police Department was made aware of the letter and “has reached out to the California National Guard and the California Office of Emergency Services — both agencies deem the letter FAKE,” Anthony Wagner, spokesman for the department, said in an email.
The letter indicated that Homeland Security is preparing to mobilize the National Guard and dispatch them across the country with military and other first responders in the wake of a nationwide two-week quarantine.
“They will announce this as soon as they have troops in place to help prevent looters and rioters…they will announce before the end of the weekend,” read the letter, which features a National Guard logo and a stamp of the armed forces group.