Capitol Police chief dropped request for armed National Guard members to be on standby for Saturday

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Politics

Capitol Police chief dropped request for armed National Guard members to be on standby for Saturday’s rally after Pentagon discussions

By Carol D. Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis
Yesterday at 6:41 p.m. EDT

The U.S. Capitol Police chief formally asked for 100 armed National Guard members to be on standby for a rally this Saturday at the Capitol in case it turns violent, but he withdrew the request at the urging of a top Senate security official who said he had not followed protocol.

Days later, Chief J. Thomas Manger instead asked for unarmed Guard members after conferring with the official, Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson and the Pentagon, according to internal correspondence and three people familiar with the discussions. The Guard members would be armed only with batons and would be accompanied by armed police.

On Friday morning, the Defense Department approved the request for support, saying unarmed soldiers will be stationed at the D.C. Armory and will deploy only if necessary. It’s highly unusual for armed National Guard members to respond to protests, and strict rules must be followed in such cases.

{snip}

By Carol D. Leonnig
Carol Leonnig is an investigative reporter at The Washington Post, where she has worked since 2000. She won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for her work on security failures and misconduct inside the Secret Service. Twitter https://twitter.com/CarolLeonnig

By Aaron Davis
Aaron Davis is an investigative reporter who has covered local, state and federal government, as well as the aviation industry and law enforcement. Davis shared in winning the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2018. Twitter https://twitter.com/byaaroncdavis

[Bluethroughu]

1. I thought there were armed guards for the BLM march?

I saw pictures and it was ridiculous.

I guess no deterrence needed for a rally to release a group of insurrectionists that broke into the capital, killed and maimed cops, threatened to kill Democratic members of Congress and change the election results.

Yeah, people of color marching for equality is far more threatening than white supremacists killing and terrorizing. Same old story.

[IronLionZion]

4. Some of the cops might be at the insurrectionist rally

as participants

[Bluethroughu]

6. I forgot the traitors are entitled to freedumb of speech and

We wouldn't want their stupidity to be infringed upon because blue lives matter don't ya know.

[IronLionZion]

7. ALL LIVES MATTER11!1!1!

Except for people they don't like

[Bluethroughu]

9. Yep, that's why they beat the police with Blue lives and American flags.

If it walks like a fascist, talks like a fascist, they are definitely fascists.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

2. Risky move!!

[PA_jen]

3. I've got a bad feeling about this. Didn't something similar happen Jan 6th

I pray I am wrong

[jimfields33]

5. Somebody here reported that they have not seen anybody at all

I think this will be a dud. 100 people maybe. Wouldn’t surprise me if 10 idiots with banners and bullhorns show up.

[bearsfootball516]

8. Yeah, it's been reported that attendance is extremely small.