D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday that Congress must transfer command of the D.C. National Guard to her following the “domestic terrorism” at the U.S. Capitol.
“The Capitol Police and the leadership at the Capitol, they did not make the decision to call in Guard support,” Miss Bowser said at a press conference. “I cannot order the army, the National Guard, to the United States Capitol grounds. I can in the District, with the approval of the secretary of the Army.”
On Monday, Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy and Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller approved Miss Bowser’s request for deployment of the D.C. National Guard to assist local law enforcement at pro-Trump rallies.
At least 340 unarmed Guard members were initially deployed Wednesday, but the entire Guard was activated when protestors broke into the Capitol.
The mayor also said Congress’ joint Terrorism Task Force should investigate and charge “any individual who entered the Capitol, destroyed property, or incited the acts of domestic terrorism” on Wednesday.
“More immediately, we know that the current president must be held accountable for this unprecedented attack on our democracy,” Miss Bowser said during a press conference. “What happened yesterday is what he wanted to happen, and we must not underestimate the damage he can do to our nation and our democracy over the next two weeks. And it’s not just the president who should be held accountable, so too should the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol and threatened Congress.”
Miss Bowser said she wants the commission to review why the federal law enforcement response during summer protests was “much stronger” than the recent “attack on Congress.”
The mayor also reiterated her call for D.C. statehood, and said Congress should form a nonpartisan commission to look into the “catastrophic” security failures that occurred at the Capitol.
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
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