Urging calm, DC mayor calls on National Guard to protest

WASHINGTON (AP) – The mayor of Washington, DC, called for calm on Monday as some 340 National Guard soldiers were activated as the city braced for potentially violent protests surrounding Congress’ expected vote to affirm the victory of the President-elect Joe Biden.

According to a US defense official, Mayor Muriel Bowser called on New Years Eve to have members of the Guard on the streets Jan. 5-7 to help with the protests. The official said members of the DC National Guard will be used for traffic control and other assistance, but will not be armed or wear bulletproof vests. Congress is meeting this week to certify the electoral college’s results, and President Donald Trump has refused to concede while garnering support for the protests.

At a press conference Monday, Bowser demanded that people stay away from downtown DC and avoid confrontations with anyone “looking to fight.” But, she warned, “we will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate our residents or cause destruction in our city.”

There will be around 115 Guardsmen on duty at any given time in the city, said the defense official, who provided details on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The official said members of the guard will be used to set up traffic checkpoints around the city and to stand alongside district police at all metro stations in the city. Acting Police Chief Robert Contee said the Guard troops would also be used for crowd management.

“Some of our intelligence certainly suggests that there will be an increase in the size of the crowds,” Contee said, adding, “There are people who intend to come to our city armed.”

Because DC does not have a governor, the city’s designated National Guard commander is Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy. Any request for deployment of guard by the DC must be approved by him.

The defense official said there will be no active-duty military troops in the city and the US military will not provide any planes or intelligence. The DC Guard will provide specialized teams that will be ready to respond to any chemical or biological incident. But the official said there would be no members of the DC Guard on the National Mall or the US Capitol.