Service members deployed to Washington in response to protests over the killing of George Floyd were given bayonets, according to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The soldiers were given bayonets but were told to keep them in their scabbards and not attach them to their rifles, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley wrote to two House lawmakers in a letter obtained by the Associated Press. Service members were also told not to bring their weapons into the city without clear orders and only after nonlethal options were considered first.
The letter was sent to Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois and Ted Lieu of California, both Democrats, who asked last month for more details about the use of bayonets.
About 700 members of the 82nd Airborne Division were mobilized to two bases near the city and were armed with live rounds, bayonets, and riot gear. Members of the Old Guard were also issued bayonets, according to a Bloomberg report last month.
Neither the Old Guard nor the 82nd Airborne Division was called off base to respond to the unrest. An earlier AP report said some troops were not trained in riot response.
Krishnamoorthi and Lieu said they were concerned that the use of bayonets could escalate tensions between law enforcement and protesters, citing the 1970 Kent State shootings, when four students were killed by National Guardsmen.
“The escalation and violence leading up to and following those killings included those same troops meeting peaceful demonstrators with bayonets,” they wrote.
Milley did not say he would ban the use of bayonets but said his decision to issue them would be on a case-by-case basis.
“While we are grateful for General Milley’s responses to our questions concerning the arming of troops with bayonets for potential deployment against protesters, we were disappointed that he was not willing to commit to banning the practice,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
“We recognize the necessity of the Joint Force preserving flexibility to respond to varying circumstances, but it is difficult for us to imagine a circumstance which could necessitate or justify the deployment of bayonets against American civilians,” the Democrats added.
