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The U.S. National Guard deployed 50 times more troops to the Capitol after the January 6 riots than it did to protect the famous building after the September 11 attacks.
The National Guard sent 100 troops to the Capitol complex to defend the country’s seat of power after terrorists attacked the Pentagon – just a few miles across the Potomac River – and the World Trade Center in New York City almost 20 years ago.
After the attack on Capitol Hill a decade later, on January 6, 2021, the Pentagon decided to keep 5,000 military personnel in the building until March of this year. This marked a membership increase of more than 50 times that used in response to September 11.
The National Guard confirmed to Fox News that the number of soldiers sent to defend the Capitol building in 2001 during “Task Force: Capital Guardian” was 100 soldiers.
ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE SAYS NATIONAL GUARD NO LONGER NEEDED IN CAPITOL AS COSTS RISE
Biden Administration Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin quashed National Guard Chief Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, who wrote a memo saying the Pentagon should not respond to the request for 2,280 troops to Capitol Building by the United States Capitol Police (USCP), Fox News reported Thursday.
“Efforts to date have not secured enough volunteers from supporting states to meet the USCP’s request for 2,280 troops, or Option B of 1,000 troops,” the memo reads.
The memo said Hokanson feared that the “continued indefinite nature” of the operation “could also hamper” the way the Pentagon organizes future operations.
“I am concerned that the continued indefinite nature of this requirement may also hamper our ability to conduct future missions as warrant officers and guards may be skeptical about engaging in future endeavors,” the memo reads.
Austin chose to keep the troops in the Capitol and would consider implementing involuntary activation orders.
Troops deployed to the Capitol complex in Washington remained after months of deployment, where they reportedly slept on the floor and received expired food.
The troops came in response to waves of supporters of former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally who ransacked the Capitol while trying to prevent the Senate from confirming the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The National Guard was more than half an hour late from when the Pentagon authorized the deployment of troops to Capitol Hill amid the riots and their actual deployment.
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The leadership of the House Armed Services Committee – Reps. Adam Smith, D-Wash., Chairman and Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Non-commissioned member – have called for the National Guard troops to “go home them in their families ” as the operation continues to grow.
“As the United States Capitol Police continue to build their personnel capacity, there is no doubt that some level of National Guard support should remain in the National Capital Region to respond to credible threats against the Capitol, “Smith and Rogers said in a press. Release.
“We appreciate that our guards have answered the call to protect the Capitol, but it is time for us to review the level of security required, so that they can return home to their families and communities,” they added. .
Fox News’ Gillian Turner and Evie Fordham contributed reporting
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