Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, and former Army secretary Ryan D. McCarthy spoke with the House Appropriations Committee today behind closed doors about the events of the Jan. 6 Capitol protests, and how the restrictions placed upon them by the Pentagon hindered their response.
“All military commanders normally have immediate response authority to protect property, life, and in my case, federal functions — federal property and life,” Walker told the Post. “But in this instance, I did not have that authority.”
Walker said he asked McCarthy, the secretary of the Army, for permission.
But that permission wouldn’t come for another hour and fifteen minutes, according to a Defense Department timeline of events, as members of Congress barricaded themselves in their offices and hid from a marauding horde trying to undo the Nov. 3 election.
Had he not been restricted, Walker said he could have dispatched members of the D.C. Guard sooner.
“With all deliberate speed–” he said, referencing the short two-mile stretch between the Capitol and the Armory, “–I mean, they’re right down the street.”
These restrictions included not giving the guardsmen ammunition or riot gear and prohibiting them from interacting with protestors “unless necessary for self-defense.” They were also banned from sharing equipment with local law enforcement or using surveillance, and placed under limitations by the narrow scope of their original, unarmed mission, according to the Washington Post.