WASHINGTON – Shortly Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy receives the first of several calls from Mayor Muriel Bowser, Washington, DC. Trump supporters violate the Capitol, overwhelming police officers, and me. Bowser wants to strengthen the soldiers of the DC National Guard.
Pentagon officials have asked for clarification, saying they need a request based on capabilities rather than number of forces, defense officials said. “What do you want to do with them?” asked a U.S. official. “There was a determined sense of urgency, but not a sense of panic. We wanted to get these guys moving. ”
About 90 minutes passed to sort out the needs, with Mr. McCarthy approving the redeployment of 200 troops already at traffic points and subway stations in the city. More time passed before the soldiers got protective gear and arrived at the Capitol.
In those hours, the mob rioted through the halls and offices of Congress, in the first siege of the building by American citizens. Five people were killed, including a woman who was shot by police as she climbed through a broken door window outside the living room and a police officer was fatally injured after being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.
As rioters stormed the Capitol, numerous federal and local agencies policing the country’s capital provided a flood of urgent communications, but they struggled to sort out orders and coordinate a forceful response to the attack outside their territory. control was.