Riot on Capitol Hill: Army now acknowledges Michael Flynn’s brother was part of military response

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The decision-making came under scrutiny, as police officials in the city and the Capitol Alleged the Pentagon was slow to respond, while the Pentagon and the military argue they don’t ‘have never refused or delayed requests from the National Guard.

In the official calendar released by the Defense Department following the riot, Charles Flynn, the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff, was not listed as participating in any of the calls this that day on the mobilization of the National Guard to respond to the riot. .

The Washington Post was the first to report Flynn’s participation in the call.

“I walked into the room after the call started and left before the call ended because I thought a decision was imminent from (then Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy) and I had to be in my office to help execute the decision, ”Flynn said in a statement to CNN. There was no clear answer on the length of Flynn’s call or his contribution to the conversation.

The Washington Post reports that the military “falsely denied for days that Lt. Gen. Charles A. Flynn” was involved in key meetings. One of the people responsible for the call told CNN in the days following the insurgency on Capitol Hill that Flynn was not on the call, but the military did not confirm his participation until Wednesday.

There is no indication that Charles Flynn agrees with his brother, who was a supporter of challenging President Joe Biden’s victory on behalf of the former president.

Michael Flynn, who has been pardoned by Trump, had suggested during an Oval Office meeting that the president should invoke martial law as part of the effort to annul the election, although others in the room have pushed back the idea, CNN previously reported. At a rally the day before the riot, Michael Flynn urged the crowd to challenge the election results.

“Those of you who are feeling weak tonight, those of you who don’t have the moral fiber in your body, take some tonight because tomorrow we the people will be there, and we want you to know that we will not do this is a lie, ”he said.

The official timeline for the office of then-serving Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller showed McCarthy, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, city deputy mayor, director of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. of DC Christopher Rodriguez and the leadership of the Metropolitan Police Department as participants in the appeal. General Walter Piatt, director of the army staff, was also on call.

But there was no mention of the involvement of Charles Flynn, a three-star general who has already been approved by Congress for a fourth star. Flynn is responsible for operations, plans, and training, but he is outside the DC National Guard chain of command, and he does not have the authority to deploy troops.

The revelation comes as the Department of Defense is already trying to refute accusations it has denied or delayed the deployment of additional troops as the riot escalated on Capitol Hill, ultimately killing five, including an officer of Capitol police. A DC official called the process of calling more guards “long” and “tortured.”

12 members of the Army National Guard removed from inauguration duty

Pentagon officials have repeatedly denied the charges, insisting there were no intentional delays, though McCarthy told CNN on Monday that the response was hampered by an “archaic system.”

In the days leading up to January 6, Pentagon officials were sensitive to the deployment of troops to the streets of Washington, especially after the criticism they faced over the military response to the June protests. Nonetheless, the Pentagon deployed 340 members of the DC National Guard, asking both the city and the Capitol Police if they needed more troops. Both said no. But as the situation rapidly deteriorated on January 6, the now ousted Capitol Hill Police Chief Stephen Sund and DC officials said military leaders were hesitant and overly concerned about the public perception that more troops would again be deployed on the streets.
Charles Flynn’s open involvement, just a day after his brother, Michael Flynn, pushed Trump supporters with screams of stolen elections and violent images, would have only heightened that scrutiny. The elder Flynn has been permanently banned from Twitter for promoting QAnon and spreading lies and conspiracy theories about the presidential election. Michael Flynn, who briefly served as Trump’s first national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian diplomats before Trump forgave him in November.

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