Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows put the National Guard on standby to protect Trump rioters, not the Capitol.
Mark Meadows indicated in a Jan. 5 email that the National Guard was on standby to “protect pro Trump people,” according to documents obtained by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, which the panel described in a public filing Sunday night.
The context for the message is unclear, but it comes amid intense scrutiny of the Guard’s slow response to violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and conflicting timelines about their efforts from the Pentagon and National Guard leadership.
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The Trump White House Had No Interest In Protecting The Capitol
The priority for the Trump White House was to protect the rioters who were trying to overturn the election, not the Capitol and members of Congress. More context and information are needed, but at first pass, Meadow’s message is a clear indication of where the White House was placing its emphasis.
Trump and his staff were only focused on overturning the election. It appears that they may have intentionally left the Capitol vulnerable to violence.
Ordering the National Guard to protect the Trump supporters would answer why faster action wasn’t taken to put down the violent mob.
The fact that the White House didn’t activate the Guard or have them protecting the Capitol on Jan. 5 is illuminating.
Trump was never going to protect the Capitol because one suspects that the threat of, or violence itself, was part of the plan to overturn the election.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
