It Looks Like Troops Will Be Quartering in DC Area for the Rest of Biden's 'Dark Winter'
Thousands of National Guard troops could remain on patrol in Washington, D.C., through as late as mid-March, according to new reports.
The Guard’s presence in D.C. swelled to about 26,000 troops for Wednesday’s inauguration of President Joe Biden. Troops had been requested over fears that there could be some repetition of the violence that took place on Jan. 6, when rioters entered the U.S. Capitol.
Officials said about 15,000 troops would be heading home in the coming days.
Troops from Texas, Florida and New Hampshire were summoned home by their states’ governors after it was revealed that some troops who had been using the Capitol as a camp when not on patrol were forced to take rest breaks in a cramped, unsanitary parking garage.
Guard officials said in a statement Thursday that about 7,000 troops would stay in Washington through the end of this month.
But on Friday, reports emerged that up to 7,000 troops could remain through March 12, according to Military.com, which cited as its source a National Guard official, while noting that “those details are still in the planning stages.”
Fox News reported a slightly different number of troops would remain.
“As we continue to work to meet the final post-inauguration requirements, the National Guard has been requested to continue supporting federal law enforcement agencies with 7,000 members and will draw down to 5,000 through mid-March,” the National Guard said in a statement to Fox.
That would make their deployment run to the end of what President Joe Biden predicted would be a “dark winter” and almost to the start of spring, which begins March 20.
Fox News reported officials feared there could be a return of protesters on March 4, the original date presidents were inaugurated in the early history of the nation.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said there was “intelligence from our federal partners that would suggest that we need more presence,” according to CNN. She did not provide details.
Guard members who remain are “providing assistance such as security, communications, medical evacuation, logistics, and safety support to state, district and federal agencies,” the Guard said in its statement to Fox.
Nahaku McFadden, a spokesman for the Guard, told Military.com that Guard members who remain for longer than 31 days will do so on a volunteer basis.
“We are not going to make anybody stay,” McFadden said.
Guard officials said to date, there have been no security threats.
“We not only had 26,000 here in D.C., but there were also 7,000 supporting 30 state capitals around the country,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Steven Nordhaus, director of Domestic Operations and Force Development for the National Guard Bureau, told Military.com.
“There were no incidents that I know of,” he said. “It was really remarkable with our states working with their local law enforcement. It was very peaceful, thanks to all the great efforts from the states and the National Guard in each of those states.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that nearly 200 National Guard troops deployed to Washington had tested positive for the coronavirus.
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