Capitol Police sought National Guard backup
Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said he tried to get the National Guard placed on standby in the days before the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol but was rebuffed.
Sund, who resigned the day after the riot, told The Washington Post he had been concerned that the protest planned for Jan. 6 would be larger than expected. Sund said he asked House and Senate security officials for permission to request that the Guard be placed on standby.
Sund said House and Senate sergeants at arms told him they were not comfortable with the “optics” of declaring an emergency days before the protest and suggested Sund should informally ask Guard officials to be on alert. Both Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger and House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving have since resigned.
Sund said he pleaded for help five more times as the riot unfolded. A crowd quickly overran the Capitol Police contingent of 1,400 officers.
“If we would have had the National Guard, we could have held them at bay longer, until more officers from our partner agencies could arrive,” he said.
Sund said the crowd breached the Capitol before 2 p.m. A half-hour later, he was on the phone with the Pentagon, he said. Sund said Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, director of the Army Staff, balked at recommending that his boss, Army Secretary Ryan Mccarthy, approve the request. Again, optics were cited.
National Guard troops arrived around 5:40 p.m., after the riot had been quelled.
Under federal law, the mayor of the District of Columbia does not have authority over the Guard. Neighboring Maryland must gain approval from the Pentagon to send its troops across the border into the District of Columbia.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he authorized the mobilization of the Maryland National Guard and was ready to deploy troops to the Capitol.
“However, we were repeatedly denied approval to do so,” Hogan said.
Contributing: Associated Press