Anticipating truck convoy protests next week to coincide with President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address, Washington, D.C., law enforcement agencies have requested that the Pentagon provide assistance in securing the event, The Hill reported on Tuesday.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that both the U.S. Capitol Police and the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency asked for personnel from the D.C. National Guard "to provide support at traffic control points in and around the District to help ... address potential challenges stemming from possible disruptions at key traffic arteries."
Kirby added that the Pentagon is studying the requests but that "no decisions have been made yet" if such support will be authorized.
If approved, this would be one of the first uses of a more streamlined activation process for the D.C. National Guard that was set up as part of a new law following the Jan. 6. 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the Military Times.
The newspaper added that guardsmen would provide vehicles and personnel around the clock at 43 critical blocking positions.
U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement last week that "law enforcement agencies across the National Capital Region are aware of plans for a series of truck convoys arriving in Washington, D.C., around the time of the State of the Union," adding that it "is closely coordinating with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department, the United States Park Police, the United States Secret Service and other allied agencies to include the DC National Guard."