The thousands of National Guardsmen stationed at the U.S. Capitol and nearby congressional buildings were abruptly told to vacate the premises on Thursday.
A new report in Politico says the Guardsmen were told by Capitol Police to leave the Capitol premises and set up mobile command centers outside or in nearby hotels. The Guardsmen were also told to take rest breaks during their 12-hour shifts either outside or in nearby parking garages.
The report cited a Guardsmen whose unit was suddenly told to vacate the Dirksen Senate Office Building where troops had gathered following a long couple of days at the Capitol complex. The 5,000 troops in the unit were reportedly forced to "rest" on the hard floors of a parking garage that lacked internet reception, contained a single electrical outlet, and a lone bathroom with just two stalls.
"Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service. Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed," a Guardsman told Politico.
It's not clear from the report why the Guardsmen were told to move. One Guardsmen speculated it was due to a complaint that some were not wearing face masks. But the Guardsmen told Politico that face masks are being worn at all times unless Guardsmen are eating or drinking.
Democrats have spent the past several days hyping the apparently non-existent threat of continued violence at the Capitol. The riot that lasted a few hours was bad, indeed, but sustained mob violence appears to be a hallmark of the political left, not the right.
Of course, we could have used the Guard to quell the violent rioting by leftists that went on night after night for months last year, encouraged and defended by Democratic lawmakers.
But Democrats only want the Guard to make the threat of right-wing violence appear worse than it is. It's no wonder Guardsmen feel used.