The District of Columbia National Guard is activated approximately 250 personnel to support local law enforcement in response to what it calls, "First Amendment" demonstrations.
The announcement Monday said, "On behalf of the DC Metropolitan Police Department, Dr. Christopher Rodriguez, Director of the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, has requested DC Guardsmen to assist police with street closures at multiple intersections in order to provide safety in and around pedestrian areas."
Brig. Gen. Aaron R. Dean II, The Adjutant General of the DC National Guard said in a statement, "At the request of Dr. Rodriguez, Director of the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, the District of Columbia National Guard is in a support role to the Metropolitan Police Department and we are prepared to help provide a safe environment for our fellow citizens to exercise their first amendment right. This is our home, and we are dedicated to the safety and security of our fellow citizens of the District and their right to safely and peacefully protest."
The DC National Guard is approved to continue support to DC and law enforcement as needed until May 9. National Guardsmen have been on station in Washington DC since the riot at the US Capitol on Jan 6. According to the Military Times, hundreds of National Guard troops were posted in the streets of Washington, DC prior to the riot, but could not intervene until formally asked to do so by the Capitol Police. The Capitol Police did not make a request until after the breach.
Many have questioned the ongoing presence of the National Guard in the city since the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Numerous reports of mistreatment of the Guardsmen on station in the US Capitol have been well documented by the media.
Though the DC Guard refered to "First Amendment" demonstrations, National Guard units are on standby in many cities across the country in anticipation of riots in response to a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial for the death of George Floyd. Since Floyd’s death, the National Guard has had to help quell riots across the country, most recently in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis, following the death of Duante Wright.
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