MaizieD
I read that the Capitol Guard was instructed not to be armed, wear riot gear or deploy extra forces. The 'justification' was that they'd gone too far in policing BLM protests.
I'll try to find a source for this.
The official copy of this memo is online but I couldn’t copy it. It was issued 48 hours before the storming of The Capitol.
Issued by Christopher Miller the memo approved the use of only 340 National Guard soldiers and imposed extraordinary limitations. It stated:
“This memorandum responds directly to your January 4, 2021 memorandum regarding the District of Columbia request for District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG) support in response to planned demonstrations from January 5-6, 2021. You are authorized to approve the requested support, subject to my guidance below and subject to consultation with the Attorney General, as required by Executive Order 11485.
Without my subsequent, personal authorization, the DCNG is not authorized the following:
* To be issued weapons, ammunition, bayonets, batons, riot control agents or ballistic protection equipment such as helmets and body armor.
* To interact physically with protesters, except when necessary in self-defense or defense of others.
* Prohibited from sharing “equipment with law enforcement agencies” or seeking support from any non-DC National Guard units.
* Forbidden from conducting “searches, seizures, arrests, or other similar direct law enforcement activity.”
* Forbidden from using “Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance assets” or to conduct “Incident, Awareness and Assessment activities.”
* No helicopters or “any other air assets.”
And the fact that there were difficulties in calling in more members of The National Guard exacerbated the problem. It’s a wonder many more didn’t die.