The Joint Chiefs of Staff sent a memo to the entire U.S. military Tuesday, condemning the Jan. 6 riots that breached the Capitol grounds as “violence, sedition and insurrection,” and said that President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated Jan. 20, 2021 “in accordance with the Constitution.”
The one-page internal memo was signed by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten, and the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the National Guard Bureau.
“The violent riot in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021 was a direct assault on the U.S. Congress, the Capitol building, and our Constitutional process,” the letter read, citing the death of two Capitol Police officers who attempted to prevent an angry pro-Trump mob from stopping Congress from counting electoral votes.
“The rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection,” the letter continued. “Any act to disrupt the Constitutional process is not only against our traditions, values and oath: it is against the law.”
Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress were forced to suspend the electoral vote count and take shelter once hundreds of rioters breached the Capitol. Law enforcement, with the help of the D.C. National Guard, did not secure the building until 8 p.m., when Congress was able to resume.
The National Guard now has 6,200 troops from Washington, D.C., and six states in the capital, including more than 800 protecting the Capitol on 12-hour rotations.
Up to 15,000 troops are authorized to maintain peace for 30 days, well beyond the Jan. 20 inauguration.
