National Guard troops pour into D.C. to help protect inauguration
WASHINGTON — By the busload and planeload, National Guard troops were pouring into the nation’s capital Saturday, as governors answered the urgent pleas of U.S. defense officials for more troops to help safeguard Washington even as they keep anxious eyes on possible violent protests in their own states.
Military leaders spent chunks of Thursday evening and Friday calling states in an unprecedented appeal for more National Guard troops to help lock down much of the city in the days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. In dribs and drabs, governors responded, some agreeing to send an extra dozen, 100 or even 1,000, while others said no.
The calls reflect fears that violent extremist groups are targeting the city in the wake of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The threats range from armed insurgents to possible attempts to plant explosive devices at so-called soft targets. But as Washington begins to resemble an armed camp, with more than 25,000 Guard due in the city by early next week, concerns about violence at state capitals have grown.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she turned down the federal request to send at least 100 more National Guard troops to D.C.
“I didn’t think that we could safely fill that commitment,” Brown said.
Oregon has already agreed to send 30 to Washington, but state leaders are worried about violence at the state capitol in Salem.
Others agreed, setting off a dizzying torrent of military flights and convoys into the region.
“The peaceful transfer of power is a central tenet of American democracy, and Connecticut stands ready to aid in the protection of our country,” said Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who had initially approved sending 100 Guard and Friday agreed to send 200 more.
All told, more than 130 U.S. Air Guard flights in the last 72 hours have carried at least 7,000 Guard troops to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, according to U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Thousands more are in buses and military trucks, thundering up highways toward Washington.
What began in early January as a routine deployment of about 350 members of the D.C. National Guard to help with expected protests exploded over the last two weeks into a vastly greater operation to protect the inauguration and the U.S. Capitol and to shut down access to the city and many of its historical monuments.
As protesters stampeded their way into the Capitol on Jan. 6, only a bit more than 100 National Guard were scattered around the city, guarding checkpoints and Metro entrances. Hours later, five people were dead, the Capitol was in shambles and all 1,100 of D.C.’s Guard had been activated.
By the next day, as information came in about more violence being planned, requests went out for 6,200 Guard members from the surrounding states.
By Thursday night, as law enforcement and defense officials pored over maps and staged security drills, they concluded they would need at least 25,000 to adequately lock down the Capitol grounds and a wide swath of D.C., including the National Mall. And they agreed that the bulk of those Guard will be armed.