Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) bemoaned the state of his city that it required the military to take over as protests over the death of Freddie Gray continued.

About 2,000 Maryland National Guard soldiers arrived to assist State Police in preventing violence in Baltimore from spreading.

The troops were sent to City Hall and through the rest of the city as media, community activists, and political leader swarmed downtown, including Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Rev. Al Sharpton in a largely peaceful atmosphere on Tuesday afternoon, according to a USA Today report.

Protesters are still angry at the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, a black man who died from a traumatic spinal injury after policy took him into custody, coming in the wake of other controversial deaths of black men at the hands of police such as Michael Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in New York.

After Monday’s funeral for Grey, a portion of the protesters became violent, resulting in the calling of the Maryland Guard’s Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 175 Infantry Regiment to keep order at City Hall, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, and other key locations.

1st Lt. Sean Gramm, one of the leaders operation, said that there have not been significant incidents since their arrived, and things appear to have stabilized, according to the report. He added that he has had positive interactions with civilians.

Cummings said although he recognized the necessity of the Guard being there, it bothered him to see his city descend to the point where it required their arrival, calling it a “militarized zone.”

Cummings pointed out that the emphasis on militarizing law enforcement only made things worse in Ferguson, and that the goal was to reduce the military-style look of law enforcement in the community. However, he added that for the time being, “we need to do what we are doing,” and the community of Baltimore will get through the situation and “look for a better day,” according to the report.