Pentagon Authorizes Arming of National Guard Members Supporting Capitol Security

Pentagon Authorizes Arming of National Guard Members Supporting Capitol Security

by
The decision comes as law enforcement in the country’s capital and across the country for more extremist violence following the deadly uprising in the US Capitol last week. The first wave of National Guard troops arriving at the Capitol was unarmed, and the military looked to see if National Guards needed to be armed for the inauguration with lethal or non-lethal weapons.

Capt. DC National Guard spokesman Chelsi Johnson said in a statement to CNN that the federal government had requested the move and was authorized by Army Secretary of State Ryan McCarthy.

“The members of the National Guard are positioned to meet the requirements of the supporting civilian authorities, up to and including protective equipment and to be armed if necessary,” Johnson said.

The National Guard planned to have up to 15,000 National Guard troops to meet current and future inauguration requests, Genl. Daniel Hokanson, head of the National Guard Bureau, said Monday.

The New York Times first reported the Pentagon’s decision to arm the National Guard troops who will be deployed to Washington for security after the inauguration.
The U.S. military is working with the secret service to determine if there are any soldiers who will be part of the National Guard contingent that will provide additional background checks at Biden’s inauguration, CNN reported earlier.

The DC National Guard also provides additional training to service personnel when they arrive in Washington to emphasize that if they see or hear anything that is not appropriate, they should report it to their commando chain, an Army spokesman said in a written statement. statement told CNN.

“There is no room for extremism in the military and we will investigate each report separately and take appropriate action,” the spokesman said.

“The military is committed to working closely with the FBI as it identifies people involved in the violent attack on the Capitol to determine if the individuals have any connection to the military,” the statement said. become that any activity that “violates, civil disobedience or a breach of the peace,” may be punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or under state and federal law.

According to the Department of Defense’s current policy, all service members must be trained annually according to a program that requires department staff to provide information on known or suspected extremist behavior that could pose a threat to the Department or the United States. must report ‘, reads the statement.

.Source