THE United States Capitol Police have asked for just over 2,000 National Guard soldiers to stay in Washington, DC for up to 60 days to support the Capitol, defense officials confirmed to CBS News on Thursday. Capitol police confirmed that interim chief Yogananda Pittman submitted the request, and the Department of Defense told CBS News that it had received the request and is analyzing it.
The National Guard’s current presence in the capital area is about 5,200 military personnel as part of a security mission that took effect after the Riot of January 6. This mission is scheduled to end on March 12.
Capitol police asked about 2,000 soldiers to stay for 30-60 days.
The request for an extension comes after the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a security bulletin that said violent extremists were discussing plans to travel on or around March 4 to Washington, DC, to take control of the US Capitol. and remove Democratic lawmakers.
The request for an extended stay of around 2,000 soldiers is designed to provide sufficient support for four shifts of 500-600 soldiers at a time.
The inauguration day from 1793 to 1933 took place on March 4, and conspiracy theorists discussed March 4 this year, as the day that former President Trump will take office again.
A spokesman for the National Guard mission in Washington, DC, told CBS News that the Guard is in constant contact with civilian agency partners, but did not detail any specific threats.