National Guard members are helping police officers line up while helping police disperse protesters gathering in the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images
The DC National Guard will put on a 30-day mobilization, making sure it will be at its disposal for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20, two defense officials told NBC News.
Troops, unarmed, will monitor air traffic checkpoints and support Capitol police on Thursday as authorities work to secure the perimeter surrounding the Capitol building a day after a crowd supporting President Donald Trump the attacker.
About 200 troops with riot gear will be on the street in the morning and may arrive later in the day, a defense official said.
The mobilization comes as the nation continues to process the shocking Wednesday riot in which at least four people died. The four living ex-presidents have condemned the events of the day, in which a violent crowd disrupted lawmakers in the typically perfective process of formally confirming Biden’s victory.
The DC National Guard was mobilized during the riots and about 1,100 soldiers were sent to help local police curb the insurgency, the Pentagon said. The deployment came after Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for force, two sources told NBC News.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to send National Guard troops to DC as well.
President Donald Trump, who spoke at a rally to protest the election results shortly before his supporters infiltrated Congress, has not condemned the riots or acknowledged defeat. He encouraged protesters to be peaceful after storming the Capitol.
The president has continued to assert baseless allegations of election fraud, despite the findings of his own administration’s justice and national security departments. A person familiar with the matter told NBC News that Trump should be convinced to approve the deployment of the National Guard on Wednesday.
It is typical for the National Guard to be present at the inaugurations and more than 7,000 troops were mobilized for Trump’s inauguration in 2017. It is unclear how many will be deployed for Biden’s inauguration.
The inauguration of Biden is expected to look very different from previous ceremonies as a result of public health precautions.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in at the Capitol on Jan. 20, but have otherwise altered the tradition of adapting to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden’s transition team has said it is reinventing the typical rally at the National Mall and the Capitol’s inaugural parade at the White House in a way that will allow Americans to participate from home.
Biden condemned the riots on Wednesday in a nationally televised speech.
“At this time, our democracy is under unprecedented assault,” the former vice president said.
“It’s chaos, it borders on sedition and it must end now. I call on this crowd to withdraw and allow this task of democracy to move forward,” Biden added.
The success of the riot police in breaking down police barriers raised questions about the security precautions that will be established for the inauguration.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Who is part of the committee planning Biden’s inauguration, told CBS News that “there will have to be significant and important reviews of what happened and the changes made.” .
Klobuchar added that compared to the Electoral College’s vote count, which usually takes place without incident, the inauguration is a major security event every four years.
“Here they had an event that usually accompanies little historical note,” Klobuchar said.
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