National Guard to Send More Than 10,000 Troops
to Washington, D.C.

Added forces expected in place by weekend, ahead of Biden inauguration

The National Guard will increase the number of troops in Washington, D.C., to at least 10,000 by Saturday to bolster security in advance of next week’s presidential inauguration, the Guard’s top officer said.

Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, who is in charge of the National Guard Bureau, said in a press briefing Monday that the troop levels could rise to 15,000. He didn’t specify which states the Guard members would be coming from, whether they would be armed or the details of their mission.

The planned deployments represent an increase from the roughly 6,200 troops who arrived from six states after a violent mob of Trump supporters attacked on the Capitol Wednesday. The force also would be larger than contingents of Guardsmen at past inaugurations. Roughly 9,000 guardsmen were in Washington for President Obama’s inauguration, Gen. Hokanson said.

The decision to deploy more Guard members came after military planners and local law enforcement evaluated their planned security posture and discussed how many more could be useful.

After Wednesday’s deadly assault on the Capitol, Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller formally approved deploying 6,200 Guardsmen from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and Maryland.

The first of those arrived Thursday morning and are currently securing the perimeter around the Capitol and conducting other logical support.

Article originally published by The Wall Street Journal