Pentagon ordered ‘persistent presence’
Helicopters flew at low altitudes to disperse protesters
Top Pentagon officials ordered National Guard helicopters to use what they called “persistent presence” to disperse protests in the capital last week, according to military officials.
The loosely worded order prompted a series of low-altitude maneuvers that human rights organizations quickly criticized as a show of force usually reserved for combat zones.
Ryan D. Mccarthy, the Army secretary and one of the officials who authorized part of the planning for the helicopters’ mission Monday night, said Friday that the Army had opened an investigation into the episode.
Two Army National Guard helicopters flew low over the protesters, with the downward blast from their rotor blades sending protesters scurrying for cover and ripping signs from the sides of buildings.
The pilots of one of the helicopters have been grounded pending the outcome of the inquiry.
The high-profile episode, after days of protests in Washington — some of which turned violent — was a turning point in the military’s response to unrest in the city.
After days of operating on the periphery of the crowds, National Guard forces suddenly became a focus of the controversy over the military’s role in urban law enforcement.
Military officials said that the National Guard’s aggressive approach to crowd control was prompted by a pointed threat from the Pentagon: If the Guard was unable to handle the situation, then active-duty military units, such as a rapid-reaction unit of the 82nd Airborne Division, would be sent into the city.
Senior Pentagon officials, including Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were trying to persuade President Donald Trump that active-duty troops should not be sent into the streets to impose order, and that law enforcement and National Guard personnel could contain the level of unrest.
On Monday night, both Mccarthy and the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. James C. Mcconville, pressed Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, to increase his forces’ presence in the city, according to a senior Defense Department official.
An Army official declined to comment, saying that the investigation was continuing.
The episode has stirred outrage among lawmakers.
“What we saw on Monday night was our military using its equipment to threaten and put Americans at risk on American soil,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-ill., a former Army Black Hawk pilot.
Documents obtained by The New York Times show that planning for the National Guard mission included oversight by Mccarthy and Mcconville. The operation had been reviewed by a judge advocate team — military lawyers — before aviation units were instructed to apply “persistent presence.” These types of maneuvers are well known to Mccarthy, who served in the Army’s elite Ranger Regiment during the opening operations of the war in Afghanistan.
The episode, which occurred about three hours after a 7 p.m. curfew in the capital went into effect Monday, began when a Black Hawk helicopter, assigned to the District of Columbia National Guard, began a low and slow pass over a group of roughly 200 peaceful protesters in the Chinatown neighborhood.
The downward force of the helicopter’s rotor blades snapped a small tree, with debris almost hitting several people.
The second helicopter tried a similar maneuver. Roaring overhead, the Lakota, adorned with a redand-white cross denoting its medical affiliation, hovered over the crowd, staying at rooftop level, blowing debris and sending protesters scattering.