National Guard, Customs and Border Protection deployed to Capitol

Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol.
(Image credit: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

President Trump has directed National Guard troops and other federal protective services to the Capitol hours after his supporters breached the building.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a Wednesday afternoon tweet that Trump had directed law enforcement to the area. The announcement came after The Washington Post reported earlier that the Department of Defense had rejected a request from Washington, D.C. officials to bring in the guard.

At the same time as McEnany's announcement, the Post reported D.C. planned to deploy its entire National Guard force that night, putting about 1,100 officers on the streets.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

About 340 D.C. guard members were deployed at the start of Wednesday in anticipation of unrest as Congress gathered to certify President-elect Joe Biden's electoral vote. When Trump supporters began storming the Capitol, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a 6 p.m. curfew in the city.

Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the Federal Protective Service and Secret Service were being sent to the Capitol while Trump supporters were still in the building. Customs and Border Protection, which is under DHS, was deployed as well, a spokesperson told CBS News.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) also announced Wednesday afternoon that he was sending members of his state's National Guard and 200 Virginia State Troopers to D.C.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.