WASHINGTON – Shortly after 1:30 pm on Wednesday, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy received the first of several calls from Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser. Trump supporters were invading the Capitol, oppressing police officers, and Ms. Bowser wanted DC National Guard soldiers for reinforcement.
Pentagon officials asked for clarification, saying they needed a request based on capabilities, not the number of forces, defense officials said. “What do you want to do with them?” asked a US official. “There was a sense of urgency, but not a sense of panic. We wanted to get these guys moving. “
About 90 minutes were spent addressing these needs, with Mr. McCarthy approving the relocation of 200 soldiers already at traffic checkpoints and subway stations in the city. More time passed before the soldiers recovered the protective equipment and arrived at the Capitol.
At that time, the crowd revolted through the halls and offices of Congress, in the first siege of the building by American citizens. Five people died, including a woman shot by the police while climbing a broken window outside the Chamber chamber and a police officer fatally wounded after being hit in the head by a fire extinguisher.
As protesters stormed the Capitol, the numerous federal and local agencies that police the nation’s capital produced a barrage of urgent communications, but they struggled to classify the lines of command and coordinate a forceful response to the assault that was beyond their control.