National Guardsmen Protecting The Capitol Are Being Forced To Sleep In Parking Lots And People Are Outraged

The January 6 deadly insurrection/failed MAGA coup (carried out while Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote) led to a massive beefing up of security on Capitol Hill. This, naturally, led to an influx of National Guardsmen to Washington, D.C. and photos of service members sleeping in the halls of the U.S. Capitol itself. It was understood that these members would stay throughout the Biden Inauguration and slightly beyond, but something went amiss with their living arrangements.

Exactly what happened appears to confuse everyone, but Politico reported that U.S. Capitol Police ordered the Guardsmen out of the Capitol building itself, which meant that they had to sleep outdoors, and they headed to parking garages. This alleged treatment transpired after two weeks of nonstop security duty, for which the Guardsmen traded off and were allowed to sleep while not “on the clock,” and one unit (with 5,000 troops) was allowed to rest in the Dirksen Senate Office but shoved out on Thursday. This led the unit to one particular parking garage that only contained one bathroom (with two stalls) while temps fell into the high 30s. Politico posted photos of these troops sleeping in the garage, and one Guardsman is quoted as stating, “Yesterday, dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service. Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed.”

As one would expect, everyone who heard about this treatment felt outraged. CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted, “Whoever in DC is in charge of this National-Guard-sleeping-in-a-Senate-parking-lot mess, please get in touch with me; folks with connections to empty hotel rooms are also contacting me.”

CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju posted photos from earlier this week when the guardsmen slept on a cafeteria floor.

The Politico report, which was confirmed by CNN, quickly led to several congresspeople (on both ends of the political spectrum) tweeting about this “unacceptable” arrangement. No one seems to know who requested the order to push the troops outside, but Sen. Chris Murphy tweeted, “[W]hatever happened, they are working to fix the problem now.”

Likewise, Twitter users were outraged, and some suggested that Trump open up his nearby hotel after inciting the insurrection that led to this situation.

Manu Raju later reported that the issue “has been resolved” according to several members of Congress.

CNN further updated the situation, stating word from a guardsman that Guard members were permitted to reenter the Capitol Complex, and “will now be allowed to rest in the US Capitol Visitor Center.”