5,000 National Guard troops to remain in DC through mid-March, officials say
WASHINGTON (WJLA) - Approximately 5,000 National Guard troops will remain in the District through mid-March, officials said Sunday.
"As we continue to work to meet the final post-inauguration requirements, the National Guard has been requested to continue supporting federal law enforcement agencies with 7,000 members and will draw down to 5,000 through mid-March. We are providing assistance such as security, communications, medical evacuation, logistics, and safety support to state, District and federal agencies," said Nahaku McFadden, media operations chief for the National Guard Bureau Public Affairs.
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Major General Timothy Williams said Saturday around 1,000 Virginia National Guard members will stay in the District to assist local and federal authorities. Mayor Muriel Bowser previously said National Guardsmen would stay in D.C. until January 30.
The Virginia National Guard responded to the District following the U.S. Capitol Building breach on January 6. Mayor Muriel Bowser, as well as the Department of Defense and National Guard Bureau officials, asked for their assistance. Personnel "remain under the control of the Virginia Governor" for up to 31 days.
According to D.C.'s Director of Homeland Security Christopher Rodriquez, out-of-state troops started leaving town Thursday, but he's requesting continued support through Jan. 30 and possibly longer for traffic management and crowd control due to an anticipated "National Security Event" for an upcoming joint session of Congress.
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"Let's be clear, the threat of right-wing extremism is here," Rodriquez told a CNN reporter. "We saw it on January 6, and it will continue to be a persistent and real threat to the District of Columbia and our region as well."
Bowser said D.C. National Guardsmen could have a prolonged presence based on intelligence briefings on the upcoming weeks and even the whole year.
Acting Police Chief Robert Contee and Bowser also encouraged businesses to remove boards and help get the city back to a sense of normalcy.
"As we break down these barriers, these fences, the cinder-block barriers, we're asking that everyone just join in with us to include the business community in removing some of these boards that have been put up, as the mayor said," Chief Contee said. "The quicker that we get back to some sense of normalcy in our city, I think it will be in the best interest of the overall recovery of our city."
