Troops from the Washington National Guard will head to Washington D.C. in the coming days to provide support for the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden.
This is standard for the WA guard, which also provided support for President Trump's inauguration in 2016, according to a spokesman for the guard.
While there is no official number on how many troops are headed to the nation's capital, a guard spokesman said it expects to send members of the communications squadron, as well as squadrons to support local law enforcement with detection of hazardous materials, traffic control and perimeter support.
As of Jan. 14, there were about 7,000 members of the National Guard from the District of Columbia, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia on the ground in D.C.
The Secret Service, Capitol Police and U.S. Park Police requested assistance from the guard, according to Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the Nation Guard Bureau.
There could be as many as 20,000 troops from around the country present for Wednesday's inaugural events, according to a statement from the National Guard Bureau.
Troops have been activated in D.C. since Jan. 4, when Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy authorized several hundred members of the D.C. guard to help the Metropolitan Police Department with traffic control ahead of protests in support of President Trump.
On Jan. 12, McCarthy authorized the National Guard troops to be armed in support of the U.S. Capitol Police in order to protect the Capitol and members of congress, according to a statement from the National Guard Bureau.
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