How much is the military occupation of D.C. costing? We’re up to $500 million and counting.
The cost of deploying about 26,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. Capitol in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 riot is nearly $500 million, U.S. military officials said Thursday.
The deployment brought troops in from all 50 states and four territories as law enforcement agencies tried to lock down the Capitol for the inauguration of the President Joe Biden. Thousands of Guard members poured into the nation’s capital and were stationed across the city to block traffic and protect lawmakers and landmarks.
Officials said the nearly $500 million includes the costs of transporting Guard troops from their states to Washington, their salaries and benefits, as well as housing and other essentials. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss internal figures and spoke on condition of anonymity.
That’s a lot of money for the fascist political theater of a state of emergency. Now, why are the troops still in D.C.? Ask the FBI.
Snowy, freezing conditions in recent days have led the D.C. National Guard to provide additional cold weather gear and heated rest areas to the overall Guard force around town, who continue patrolling a vast swath of fenced-in federal buildings in the vicinity of the Capitol despite what some GOP lawmakers contend is no discernable threat.
Acting Army Secretary John Whitley told reporters last week that FBI briefings to the Guard had indicated that “malicious actors” may incite violence during “First Amendment-protected protests.”
No such protests have transpired, however.
Still, Guard members stood 30 feet apart Thursday with submachine guns held close to their chests as they gazed out from behind razor-wire-topped, nonscalable fencing at the south edge of the Capitol facing Union Station.
There are no protests in D.C. There’s been no word about any protest plans whatsoever. We have some 7,500 troops in D.C. because the FBI is claiming that “First Amendment-protected protests” are going to turn violent when… there are no protests.
Good thing nobody in the media is asking any inconvenient questions about this phantom menace.
Leave a Reply