400 Washington National Guard troops called to D.C. for inauguration security

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By Ian Firstenberg

(WASHINGTON) Roughly 400 members of Washington State's National Guard have been called to Washington D.C. to help with inauguration day security, according to The Seattle Times.

Nearly 400 Washington National Guard soldiers and airmen have been activated to support the Presidential #InaugurationDay in Washington D.C. These Guardsmen will support our federal partners in a number of different roles as determined by the lead agency. pic.twitter.com/Y8LdQ4ZQN4
— WA National Guard (@WANationalGuard) January 14, 2021

According to Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, the number of National Guard troops that will be present for the inauguration has grown to about 21,000 in total.

President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly unphased by the increased security.

“I’m not afraid of taking the oath outside. It is critically important that there’ll be a real serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition and threatening the lives, defacing public property, caused great damage — that they be held accountable," he said Monday.

The increased security is due, in large part, to the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill invasion by President Donald Trump supporters.