About 100 members of the Vermont Army National Guard are heading to the nation’s capital later this week ahead of possible protests and trucker demonstrations against Covid-19 restrictions.
The soldiers from Vermont are expected to leave for Washington, D.C., later this week, according to a Wednesday press release from the Vermont Army National Guard. They would join almost 600 other National Guard members deployed to help staff traffic and security posts during next week’s expected protests.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the request Tuesday for the deployment of the unarmed troops from the District of Columbia government and U.S. Capitol Police, Politico reported Wednesday.
The Vermont Guard, according to the release, worked with Gov. Phil Scott in making sure that the deployment would not impact local needs, including the state’s Covid-19 response.
The Vermont Guard has been deployed to Washington before.
About 100 soldiers from the Vermont Guard were sent to the capital in January 2021 ahead of the inauguration of President Joe Biden. That followed the Jan. 6 insurrection earlier in the month by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump at the Capitol.
The latest Vermont Guard mission is expected to focus on traffic control, according to First Lt. Nathan Rivard.
“They are not going to be carrying firearms, taking part in law enforcement activities or doing domestic surveillance activities,” Rivard said. “It’s really going to be helping at designated traffic posts so that people can move freely about the area.”
The increasing security presence in Washington follows trucker protests in Canada that closed border crossings and took over streets in Ottawa, that nation’s capital.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that it was not clear whether the protests in Washington will take place and, if so, how many demonstrators against government Covid restrictions will show up.
More than two dozen 18-wheeler trucks, as well as about 50 pickups and recreational vehicles, departed Adelanto, California, heading to Washington as part of a self-styled “People’s Convoy,” Reuters reported Wednesday.
The trip, Reuters reported, is expected to last 11 days, with the organizers expected to arrive at the Beltway with plans to protest.