Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has authorized an order to mobilize as many as 700 D.C. National Guard members ahead of an upcoming trucker convoy to the nation’s capital.
The National Guard said in a press statement that Austin approved requests from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) for D.C. National Guard assistance with traffic control during “First Amendment demonstrations expected in the city in the coming days.”
“The people who live, work and visit the District are part of our community, and their safety is our first mission priority,” said Maj. Gen. Sherrie L. McCandless, DCNG commanding general, in the statement.
“Our MPD and USCP partners have asked for our help in ensuring people can demonstrate peacefully and safely, and
we stand ready to assist,” she said.
A 38,000 trucker convoy is heading to Washington, DC, from Los Angeles to protest pandemic mandates just in time for Biden’s State of the Union Address on March 1. https://t.co/5dzznWg0XU
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 22, 2022
Austin approved approximately 400 National Guard members to provide support to the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) at designated traffic posts, provide command and control, and cover sustainment requirements along with 50 large tactical vehicles to be placed at those designated traffic posts on a 24-hour basis starting no later than 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 26, or as “soon as logistically possible.”
The mission is approved through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 7, as Breitbart News previously exclusively reported.
Austin also approved a request from the USCP for assistance for up to 300 National Guard troops from outside D.C. to assist at designated traffic posts and select Capitol entry points starting no later than 7 a.m., on Saturday, February 26.
The statement said Guard members will not carry firearms or take part in law enforcement or domestic-surveillance activities.
The approval does not allow for the use of helicopters or other aircraft by the National Guard or the sharing of equipment with law enforcement agencies, it said.
The DCNG will provide command and control for both missions, although units from outside the District will remain under operational and administrative control of their respective governors.
Breitbart News is told that the states sending National Guard members include West Virginia, Vermont, and New Jersey.
Unlike Canada, our leaders are prepping for the protest to turn violent, writes Louis Seagray
US Capitol police and the District of Columbia government submitted a request to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as it appears that US truckers intend to replicate recent trucker protests that paralyzed the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
The National Guard troops will “provide support at designated traffic posts, provide command and control, and cover sustainment requirements” from Saturday until 7 March, according to a statement.
Although no solid decision to the deployment or number of troops had yet been made but up to 800 National Guard members will be deployed ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address amid concerns about the protest convoy truckers heading to Washington DC for the event.
On social media, several protest groups have shared maps and routes of convoys going to Washington DC this week and into March.
In Maryland, Virginia, and the nation’s capital, law enforcement agencies are monitoring potential protests, and security for Mr. Biden’s SOTU address on 1 March has been stepped up amid fears that protesters may disrupt the event.