Earlier this week, controversy arose about the treatment of National Guard troops in the Capitol, with one anonymous American troop telling reporters that he/she felt ‘banished’ to a parking garage in Washington D.C.
Following the reports of mistreatment, several U.S. state governors have called their National Guard units back to their respective states. Montana’s Governor Greg Gianforte told Fox News during an interview that immediately after hearing of the situation, he called his troops back home and plans to personally meet and thank them for their service. Gianforte stated “We sent about 200 of our Guardsmen back to DC to make sure we had a peaceful transfer of power. They did their job and it is a national disgrace that they were escorted out of the Capitol into an unheated parking garage.”
The governors of Florida, New Hampshire, Texas, and Idaho have also called on their troops to return home.
A National Guard presence will remain in Washington through mid-March, with the 13,000 troops currently stationed at the Capitol expected to draw down to 7,000 by the end of the week and 5,000 within the next couple of months.
