Troops on Washington Streets to Begin Carrying Arms

The contingent of ME soldiers, who have not yet left for Washington, will be among many units deployed to the nation's capital, the news release said. He said the guard will be deployed "to protect and defend democracy".

Thousands of National Guard members are now in Washington, DC, to prevent a repeat of the January 6 insurrection and any outbreaks of violence during President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

A large presence of guard members dressed in fatigues and carrying rifles guarded the outside of the building, while others lined the corridors of the Capitol. Five people, including one Capitol police officer, died as a result of the riot. A Defense official said up to 20,000 Guardsmen will be part of inauguration security for Biden on January 20, and most will arrive by this weekend.

Wednesday's security briefing prep is the same one that troops receive before being deployed for Baghdad or Kabul, a senior defense official who is part of planning the security measures for the event told Fox News.

Hundreds of National Guard troops gather inside the Capitol to reinforce security on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, as the House voted to impeach President Trump for inciting a mob that stormed the building last week. "That's lawlessness. That's terror", Jeffries said.

State officials said Wednesday they were also monitoring possible armed protests but didn't yet have any threats of violence at IN locations.

"The Capitol has responded in an appropriate way to meet the nature of the severe security threat that is being posed by domestic terrorists and white supremacists", said Jeffries.

In a news release, the Oklahoma National Guard said it will augment the District of Columbia National Guard to assist law enforcement with crowd management, traffic control, communications, logistical and medical support.

The guard will be sending soldiers from the 160th Engineer Detachment and airmen from the 157th Security Forces Squadron. Many Republicans questioned whether Congress was moving too fast.