Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., decried the military presence in and around Washington, D.C., to Newsmax TV on Thursday, calling it indicative of what "the Democratic Party is trying to do to us."
"They need to leave soon," Hice told "Stinchfield." "It is really sad to see their presence, this powerful, this strong, this overbearing in Washington, D.C. It certainly doesn't look like a free country."
Hice, who appeared with Rep. Bruce Babin, R-Texas, referred to the approximately 25,000 National Guard troops that remain in the U.S. capital from the presidential inauguration, a force some claim was necessary after the U.S. Capitol building was breached Jan. 6 by protesters.
However, the deployment seemed disproportionate to the few thousand that were called in to Washington — which was met with resistance by several governors and many Democrats — after several days of riots in June that resulted in the burning of the historic St. John's Episcopal Church in Lafayette Square across from the White House.
"It is indicative of what I believe the Democratic Party is trying to do to us," Hice added. "They are trying to cram socialism down our throats.
"People need to understand this, and I think the American people do understand this, that socialism, radical left-wing socialism and freedom-loving people, the two philosophies cannot coexist," he continued.
"It's an overwhelming show of power and a cramming down the throat of the American people to have this type of military presence in Washington, D.C. And it's very likely just the beginning of more to come."
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