Nearly a month after rioters ransacked the Capitol, thousands of National Guard troops remain in Washington, D.C., protecting the city from an elusive extremist threat that has not materialized.
To be sure, the National Guard’s presence was necessary on Jan. 6, when extremists attacked the Capitol. It was also necessary in the days immediately after the riot in case of any lingering violence. But it appears the threat of violence went home. President Biden’s inauguration took place without incident, and lawmakers returned to their work with only a few additional security checks to show for it.
So, why are the troops still in Washington? No one can give a straight answer.
Citing anticipation of “civil disturbance” in the nation’s capital, the National Guard has been ordered to remain in the city through the end of March. Barbed wire fences block off a huge area of the Capitol grounds from the public, and in many parts of the city, roads are still shut down. Some members of D.C. law enforcement want these security measures to be made permanent.
This is ridiculous. There is no specific, credible threat. The government should not make a habit of deploying a large standing army as a precaution. Even acting Secretary of the Army John Whitley said he wasn’t aware of a specific threat. “There are several upcoming events — we don’t know what they are — over the next several weeks, and they’re concerned that there could be situations where there are lawful protests, First Amendment-protected protests, that could either be used by malicious actors, or other problems that could emerge,” he told reporters.
Democrats have argued the National Guard’s presence is still necessary because former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial could attract agitators again. But if Democrats have evidence of a planned Jan. 6-style protest, they have yet to share it with anyone else.
It is clear Democrats want to keep the apparent threat level as high as possible for partisan reasons. The Capitol riot exposed a very ugly element within the Right wing, and Democrats want to make sure that is the defining feature of their Republican opponents for as long as possible. It does not matter that the Capitol riot was carried out by a rogue group of extremists — Democrats want to make all Trump supporters and Republican voters the villains so that they never win an election again.
Enough is enough. If Democrats want to make a point about the GOP — that’s the norm in the back-and-forth of politics — they don’t need to make the nation’s capital a military base to do it. And members of the National Guard do not like being used as political props. Democrats should, if they have the ability and the will, simply encourage voters to hold Republicans accountable at the ballot box.
In the meantime, it’s time for our troops to go home. The city can work out a plan with National Guard officials to make sure reinforcements are sent quickly should a credible threat appear. Until then, the troops should be dispersed, the fences should come down, and Washington should get back to its business instead of acting like it’s a city under siege.
