The Pentagon announced National Guard that support Capitol security will be armed
The Department of Defense announced that members of the National Guard who support the security of the Capitol will be armed in attention, according to CNN report, which denotes an important change of position before the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the United States. The US Guard soldiers were originally mobilized to provide logistical support to Washington police on Monday.
On Monday, General Daniel Hokanson, chief of the Pentagon’s National Guard Bureau, said they hasn’t yet been authorized to carry weapons.
Captain Chelsi Johnson, a spokesman for the DC National Guard, said in a statement to CNN that the change in measure was requested by federal authorities and authorized by Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy.
The decision comes as law enforcement agencies in Washington and across the country brace for more violence after the assault on the US Capitol last week, says the DW website.
Security experts have said that conversations between extremists and Donald Trump supporters on social media about holding armed marches and the threat of violence in the US capital and other cities have increased in recent days.
The Pentagon is mobilizing up to 15,000 members of the National Guard for January 20th inauguration, as Trump and his supporters still refuse to accept Biden’s election victory two months ago.
More updates on military movement on washington DC on the following Twitter thread
War zone, militarized USA, Texas + Washington D.C unit deployment footage https://t.co/91CQvvj7zO
— Anon Candanga EN🌍🌎🌏 (@anon_candanga) January 11, 2021