Oath Keeper, an Army veteran, charged in Capitol riot renounces militia group This undated photo provided by the Montgomery County Jail shows Jessica Watkins. (Montgomery County Jail via AP). A member of the Oath Keepers militia group charged with plotting with other extremists in the attack on the U.S. Capitol disavowed the anti-government group in a court hearing Friday, telling the judge she is “appalled” by her fellow Oath Keepers and “humiliated” by her arrest. Jessica Watkins, one of nine members and associates of the far-right militia group charged with planning and coordinating with one another in the Jan. 6 siege, said she plans to cancel her Oath Keepers membership and has disbanded her local Ohio militia group. Watkins’ remarks came before the judge ordered her to remain behind bars while she awaits trial.
Guard response to Capitol riots wasn’t hurt by politics, officials insist February 23 Members of the National Guard patrol the area outside of the U.S. Capitol on the third day of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, on Feb. 11, 2021. (Jose Luis Magana/AP) Former Capitol Hill security officials on Tuesday insisted their decision not to involve more National Guard forces ahead of the deadly attack on the Capitol building on Jan. 6 was the result of intelligence analysis that underrated the threat on Congress and not concerns about the “optics” of having military personnel on Capitol Hill.
The military must not settle for being a microcosm Asha Padmanabhan February 10 Service members salute the American flag during a retreat ceremony Oct. 2, 2014, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. (Airman 1st Class Harry Brexel/Air Force) Following the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and after high-profile cases of military member involvement in far-right and white supremacist demonstrations and violence over the past year, a now common refrain was offered in response: the military is just a microcosm of society. Over my 12 years as an Air Force officer, I’ve heard civilian and military leaders alike refer to the men and women who serve in a different way: the best and brightest the nation has to offer. In daily life, both in and out of uniform, we are held to higher standards of behavior than society as a whole. That is why press reports regularly call attention to the participation of military members and veterans in anti-government and white supremacist acti
Slain Capitol Police officer, a military veteran, honored: ‘We will never forget’ February 3
An honor guard carries an urn with the cremated remains of U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick and folded flag up the steps of the U.S Capitol to lie in honor in the Rotunda, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/Pool via AP) WASHINGTON Congressional leaders paid tribute Wednesday to slain U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick in the building he died defending, promising his family and his fellow officers that they will never forget his sacrifice.
Sicknick died after an insurrectionist mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, interrupting the electoral count after then-President Donald Trump urged them to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat. The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that Sicknick, who died the next day, was injured “while physically engaging with protesters,” though the cause of his death has not been determined.
Thousands of National Guard troops pour into Washington as states answer the call
Interviews: National Guardsmen in U.S. capital for inauguration National Guard troops in Washington in the wake of a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 talk about the experience of being mobilized to the city in the midst of potential unrest around the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden. WASHINGTON By the busload and planeload, National Guard troops were pouring into the nation’s capital on Saturday, as governors answered the urgent pleas of U.S. defense officials for more troops to help safeguard Washington even as they keep anxious eyes on possible violent protests in their own states.