Pentagon put significant restrictions on D.C. Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests [View all]

[BainsBane]

This is how it got screwed up. The question is why?

The Pentagon placed significant restrictions on the D.C. Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests this week, putting the District’s military force in a back-seat role ahead of events that resulted in an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

In memos issued on Jan. 4 and 5, the Pentagon prohibited the District’s guardsmen from receiving ammunition or riot gear, interacting with protesters unless necessary for self-defense, sharing equipment with local law enforcement or using Guard surveillance and air assets without the defense secretary’s explicit sign-off, according to officials familiar with the orders.

The D.C. Guard was also told it would be allowed to deploy a Quick Reaction Force only as a measure of last resort, the officials said.

The need for higher-level approval appeared to have slowed the military response when the Capitol Police, the law enforcement force that reports to Congress and protects the House and the Senate, requested backup from 200 troops during a call with top Pentagon officials early Wednesday afternoon, according to officials familiar with the call.

The Capitol Police hadn’t asked for Guard backup in anticipation of the protests, which President Trump supported to stop congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Guard units arrived roughly 2.5 hours after the chief of the Capitol Police made the emergency request, even though a Quick Reaction Force had been put on standby outside the city limits, one of the officials said, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-protests-washington-guard-military/2021/01/07/c5299b56-510e-11eb-b2e8-3339e73d9da2_story.html