The military was asked to guard the Capitol in the US capital from extremists for several more months: the National Guard fighters will be involved until May. This is reported by Reuters with reference to the Pentagon’s statement.
2300 troops will be left at the Capitol – almost two times less than now. “This decision was made after a detailed study [of the police request] and after an assessment of the potential readiness of [the police] to act,” the Pentagon noted.
The Capitol Police have already thanked the National Guard and said the military has played a decisive role in enhancing security. At the same time, some representatives of the US Department of Defense told Reuters that they did not know the real reasons why they decided to leave the military in Washington. In a statement published on the Pentagon’s website, spokesman John Kirby emphasizes that the National Guard is needed not only to protect the Capitol from extremists.
In early March, the US Capitol police warned of a possible storming of the American Parliament by radical citizens on March 4 with the aim of seizing the Capitol and expelling congressmen from there. After that, the House of Representatives of the US Congress canceled the meeting scheduled for that day.
Prior to this, supporters of the QAnon movement (conspiracy theories whose supporters believe that Democratic leaders, Hollywood stars and religious leaders are Satanists and sexual exploiters, and the former US President Donald Trump opposes them – approx. “Lenta.ru”) announced 4 March the day of the “true inauguration”. According to them, on this day, former US President Donald Trump will return to the post of head of state.
On January 6, Republican protesters stormed the Capitol building and surrounded the Senate Hall. The Senate and the House of Representatives interrupted a meeting at which it was planned to approve the results of the last elections. During the protests, police detained nearly 70 rioters, killing five. On January 14, the House of Representatives of the US Congress voted to impeach Trump in connection with the riots in Washington, but subsequently the initiative did not receive enough votes, and the former president was acquitted.