National Guard Deployed as Pro-Trump Rioters Storm Capitol

The Trump administration and local authorities have ordered thousands of National Guardsmen to the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to quash a violent mob in support of President Donald Trump that forcibly halted Congress’s certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the November 2020 election, even as the outgoing president stopped short of conceding the election and doubled down on baseless claims that the presidency was stolen from him.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that National Guard units were set to arrive, along with “other federal protective services.” The Washington Post first reported that the District of Columbia’s entire National Guard had been activated, sending 1,100 guardsmen into action, after a request from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to stop the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also announced that 200 guardsmen under his direction were set to head to Washington, but it was not immediately clear which other units would be arriving. 

“The D.C. Guard has been mobilized to provide support to federal law enforcement in the District,” chief Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement. “Acting [Defense] Secretary [Christopher] Miller has been in contact with Congressional leadership, and [Army] Secretary [Ryan] McCarthy has been working with the D.C. government. The law enforcement response will be led by the Department of Justice.” 

Biden, speaking in Delaware, condemned the violence and said, “it’s not a protest, it’s insurrection.”

“Our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times,” he added. “There has never been anything we can’t do when we do it together. And this god-awful display today is bringing home to every Republican, Democrat, and independent in the nation that we must step up. This is the United States of America.

“President Trump, step up.”

His comments came after a surge in violence at the U.S. Capitol following a rally in which Trump riled up his supporters and urged them to march on the Capitol. 

A woman is reported to have been shot in the chest in the Capitol building, while law enforcement have found at least one improvised explosive device on the grounds of the Capitol as unprecedented scenes of lawlessness played out throughout the afternoon. 

By law, local officials have no direct authority over the D.C. National Guard, which can be ordered in by Trump or the secretary of the army, McCarthy. Some 340 National Guardsmen were already in place in Washington at the time that the violent protests began, but they were not armed and stationed at points in downtown, away from the Capitol. A platoon of police officers from Montgomery County, Maryland, which borders D.C. to the north, also arrived at the complex late Wednesday afternoon. Videos from inside the Capitol also showed FBI swat teams in military fatigues at the building.  

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Audrey Wilson contributed reporting for this article.