Nearly 6,200 National Guards mobilized to provide security for DC after the riot on Capitol Hill

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The guards will be activated by National Guardsmen from Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, New York and DC, the official said, adding that while details are still underway, troops will provide security around. of the city and the Capitol. .

Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said Thursday that in addition to deploying thousands of National Guard personnel, work has started to erect a seven-foot “non-scalable fence” around Capitol Park, which will both be at least during the next month.

“These personnel and security measures will be in place for at least 30 days and we will keep all of these support mechanisms in place in constant coordination with the Capitol Hill Police and the Mayor’s Office,” McCarthy said in a press. conference, referencing DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The mobilization will likely bring some relief to local and federal officials after the deadly riot on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that escalated after a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump breached one of America’s most iconic buildings .

As the violence escalated, it was Vice President Mike Pence, not Trump, who helped facilitate the decision to mobilize members of the DC National Guard to Capitol Hill to provide more security to the building, which was Locked down as rioters stormed the building, raising its walls, smashing windows and doors and ransacking offices.

Trump initially resisted the National Guard deployment to Capitol Hill as the crowd entered the building, according to a familiar source.

Kash Patel, acting chief of staff to Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, said in a statement Thursday that Trump and the acting Secretary of Defense had spoken “ several times this week about the demand for personnel from the National Guard in Washington, ” but did not say if they were in contact on Wednesday as the situation on Capitol Hill got out of hand.

“During these conversations, the president informed the acting secretary that he should take all necessary measures to support the demands of civilian law enforcement in securing the Capitol and federal buildings,” Patel added. .

Earlier this week, the Trump administration said civilian law enforcement would be tasked with protecting federal facilities, but the Defense Department on Wednesday received requests for additional support from the National Guard as the situation grew. increasingly dangerous, a senior defense official told CNN.

Miller on Monday approved a request by Bowser to deploy DC National Guard forces to the city to support local authorities during pro-Trump protests scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, although the 340 forces were not tasked with carry out direct law enforcement missions.

A woman identified as Ashli ​​Babbitt was fatally shot by an employee of the United States Capitol Police as crowds tried to make their way to the House chamber where members of Congress were, said Capitol Police in a statement. DC Police Chief Robert Contee said three other people died of medical emergencies during the riot.

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