WASHINGTON — The head of the DC National Guard told Congress Wednesday he was “stunned” as senior military leaders refused desperate pleas to send in troops to quell the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
Even after the Capitol had been breached, Pentagon officials in the Trump administration held off on sending in reinforcements for three hours and 19 minutes while citing a concern about “optics,” DC National Guard commanding general William Walker told the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.
Walker said that former president Donald Trump’s acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller leveled “unusual” restrictions the day before the riots that required Walker to seek Miller’s permission to move troops or to allow members of a rapid response unit to arm themselves or put on helmets or body armor.
The DC National Guard had 340 troops either deployed or ready to deploy to help DC police handle traffic around the city that day. Walker said he could have had 155 National Guard troops at the Capitol within 20 minutes of getting the order.
Instead, those troops would spend hours waiting for permission to help Capitol Police, who had been hopelessly overwhelmed by rioters.
Walker said he received a “frantic” call from then–Capitol Police chief Steven Sund at 1:49 p.m. to request backup. “Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated there was a dire emergency at the Capitol and he requested the immediate assistance of as many available National Guardsmen that I could muster,” said Walker.
Senior military leaders were then looped into the call. But, according to Walker, senior Defense officials Charles Flynn and Walter Piatt said that “it would not be their best military advice to have uniformed guardsmen on the Capitol.” Walker said they cited concerns about the optics of deploying soldiers to the Capitol, as well as the risk of “inflaming” the crowd.
Walker said this was unlike the racial justice protests last year after the death of George Floyd, during which the National Guard was given immediate approval to aid local law enforcement.