National Guard on J6
U.S. Congressman Dan Goldman (D–NY) claims that President Trump “refused to call in the National Guard as his supporters were ransacking the Capitol on Jan 6.”
IN FACT, records from the U.S. Capitol Police, the DoD Inspector General, and transcripts hidden by the Biden administration prove that Trump and his subordinates requested the National Guard on J6, but subordinates of Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell denied that request. Here are the receipts:
Per the official timeline of the U.S. Capitol Police [USCP]:
- On January 2, the Department of Defense [DOD] (which was under the authority of President Trump) asked USCP if they were “considering a request for National Guard soldiers for January 6, 2021 event.”
- On January 3, USCP replied that “a request for National Guard support not forthcoming at this time.”
- On January 4, USCP asked the House Sergeant at Arms and the Senate Sergeant at Arms for “authority to have National Guard to assist with security for the January 6, 2021 event,” but the Sergeants at Arms “denied” this “request.”
- The official rules of the House state that the Sergeant at Arms shall “maintain order under the direction of the Speaker or other presiding officer,” who was Nancy Pelosi.
- The Senate Sergeant at Arms on J6 was appointed by Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who also fired him the day after J6.
Regarding the day of the riot, Steven Sund, the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, wrote, “I made 11 urgent calls requesting National Guard support on Jan 6, starting at 12:58 PM. Approval was withheld for 71 minutes by the House Sergeant at Arms, who reported directly to Speaker Pelosi.”
Furthermore, the DoD Inspector General found that:
- President Trump asked Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley on January 3 about “election protest preparations,” and Miller replied, “We’ve got a plan, and we’ve got it covered.”
- the actions “taken by the DoD in response to the civil disturbance at the U.S. Capitol Campus on January 6, 2021” were “reasonable in light of the circumstance that existed on that day and requests from D.C officials and the USCP.”
- DoD officials “did not delay or obstruct the DoD’s response to the USCP’s request for assistance” on January 6, 2021.
Moreover, transcripts hidden by the Biden administration for 3 years show that Trump told Milley on January 3, “There’s going to be a large amount of protesters here on the 6th, make sure that you have sufficient National Guard or Soldiers to make sure it’s a safe event. … I don’t care if you use Guard, or Soldiers, active duty Soldiers, do whatever you have to do. Just make sure it’s safe.”
The same transcripts also show that contrary to the DoD Inspector General, anti-Trump Pentagon officials may have delayed the DC National Guard response on J6 due to concerns about “optics.”
