DC National Guard activated before protests

Demonstrations will take place when Congress has to certify the election results.

The Pentagon has approved a request by the mayor of Washington DC to activate 340 members of the DC National Guard to assist law enforcement before protests scheduled for Wednesday, when Congress is expected to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. .

The unarmed guards will work in shifts to help manage traffic checkpoints in the city’s downtown area to free DC police officers who may be needed to respond if the protests turn violent.

Local and federal law enforcement officials expect thousands of protesters to converge in the nation’s capital on Wednesday to protest President-elect Joe Biden’s certification of victory. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has urged local residents to avoid the downtown area, fearing that far-right supporters of President Donald Trump will act violently.

“About 340 staff members will support the city government from January 5-7 by providing crowd control at several metro stations and helping police close streets at several intersections to ensure safety in and around pedestrian areas. “, according to a statement released by DC National. Keep.

The guards in the capital will also support the DC fire and emergency management services with specially trained personnel from the Civilian Support Team. The guards are ready to respond to augment the main missions, if additional personnel are needed. necessary, “the statement continued.

Mayor Bowser requested the activation on December 31 and the request was approved by the acting Defense Secretary on Monday, a senior defense official said. Unlike National Guards in other states – whose activation is controlled by state governors – responsibility for the DC National Guard rests with Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, who must then have the decision approved by the Secretary of Defense. Defense.

The activation of 1,600 DC Guards last summer during the Black Lives Matter protests proved controversial, as Bowser said at the time that she had not requested their activation. The National Guard’s use of helicopters to disperse protesters was then investigated by the Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General.

The 340 guards activated on Monday will work day and night, with around 100 at any given time, occupying more than 30 traffic check points in the city center, defense officials said. No National Guard helicopter was requested by Bowser.

“Nobody is going to be armed or (wear) a bulletproof vest or anything like that,” the official said. “What they need is traffic control.”

Placing National Guards at checkpoints will help free an equal number of DC police officers who might “be closer to protests if there is a violent act, they would be able to respond much, much faster and more effectively.” it just gives them a lot more flexibility and a higher density of support, ”the official said.

“We think it’s helpful to have our DC guards, who are our guard, which I asked the secretary of the military to help the MPD manage the traffic,” Bowser said on Monday. “It absolutely frees up more officers.”

DC Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee called any possibility of violence surrounding protests “unacceptable” and reiterated that carrying guns during protests is not permitted under the law of DC, as it is not an open jurisdiction.

In addition to the presence of traffic, the DC Guard will also have a chemical and biological response team available to local authorities.