D.C. National Guard to activate hundreds of troops for pro-Trump demonstration
The District of Columbia National Guard will activate 340 troops to provide support to D.C. Metropolitan Police for the pro-Trump demonstrations expected on January 5 and January 6, according to a senior defense official.
Thousands are expected to descend on D.C. streets to protest the election results this week, as President Trump continues to baselessly claim that he — and not President-elect Joe Biden — won the presidential election.
"The BIG Protest Rally in Washington, D.C. will take place at 11.00 A.M. on January 6th... StopTheSteal!" Mr. Trump tweeted on Friday. He's said the rally "will be wild."
The D.C. National Guard is part of the U.S. National Guard, composed of both D.C. Army National Guard and D.C. Air National Guard. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested the troop support several days ago, and her request was approved.
The demonstrations expected this week come as Congress is prepared to conduct the official count of Electoral College votes on Wednesday.
During another pro-Trump "Stop the Steal" rally in D.C. in December, several people were stabbed and more than 30 were arrested in clashes between protesters and counter-protesters.
This week's demonstrations come after an explosive tape emerged in which Mr. Trump told Georgia's secretary of state to "find" him votes. The president lost in the Peach State. On the hour-long phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Saturday, Mr. Trump pressured him and other officials to "find" enough votes in the state's presidential election to make him the winner, according to audio of the call obtained by CBS News.
During the call, which Mr. Trump mentioned in a tweet Sunday, the president told Raffensperger, "All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state."
Mr. Trump heads to Georgia Monday night for a rally ahead of special elections in the state Tuesday that will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the Senate.
David Martin, Kathryn Watson and Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.