JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The leader of the Missouri National Guard says 300 troops are headed to Washington, D.C. to help with civil unrest. Adjutant General Levon Cumpton said the troops are leaving for the nation’s capital Thursday.

Cumpton says the Missouri troops are tasked with helping protect “critical infrastructure.” Protests in the nation’s capital have been violent at times. Indiana, South Carolina and Tennessee have also sent troops to D.C.

The protests are in response to the death in Minnesota of a black man, George Floyd, who died after a white police officer pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for several minutes.