The more than 25,000 National Guard troops called to provide inauguration security remained in place Thursday and will continue to patrol the near-vacant capital city until federal agencies release them, military officials said.
“We are here at the request of federal agencies and will stay as long as we are needed to meet their requirements,” D.C. National Guard spokesman Capt. Tinashe Machona told the Washington Examiner without responding to questions about when troops might begin to depart the District of Columbia.
“If we have excess capability and capacity, we want to get those National Guard soldiers and airmen back home to their families and employers as soon as we can,” Machona added.
The inauguration went off without incident, and the Guard is working with federal law enforcement to identify continuing needs before withdrawing the military force that has personnel from all 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia.
“There were no reported security incidents involving the National Guard on duty yesterday for inauguration support,” he said. “We are coordinating with federal law enforcement to meet any continuing requirements while simultaneously working the logistics to return our Guard members to their home states, families, and employers.”
In a statement released Thursday, the National Guard said it would continue to support federal law enforcement as requested.
“Our Guard members will return home as soon as conditions permit,” National Guard bureau chief Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson said in the statement.
Just 340 unarmed National Guard members were called to provide security for the District of Columbia ahead of protests of the Jan. 6 Electoral College vote count by Congress.
The failure of federal law enforcement to request additional Guard members to protect the Capitol led to the violent breach of the legislative hall that forced lawmakers into lockdown and suspended the Electoral College vote-counting until 8 p.m. that night.
After the Wednesday security breach, some 10,000 Guard members were in place by the weekend, and the U.S. Capitol Police, Park Police, and Secret Service requested more than 25,000 Guard members to provide election security.
When asked by the Washington Examiner on a Tuesday media call, Hokanson said at least 6,200 would remain for up to 30 days, well after the inauguration concluded.
“We did put 6,200 on early. So there would at least be a residual element here if it was necessary,” Hokanson said.
“With respect to the 25,000 that we currently have: that’s to meet all of the requirements that have been requested by the lead federal agency, in this case, the United States Secret Service,” he said. “When we look at post-inauguration, it’ll depend on the conditions, of course, the missions that we’re provided.”
