Esper, Milley defend use of National Guard during protests in Washington

Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Thursday defended before Congress the use of the National Guard during the George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C., near the White House. 

Esper said using the Guard was a better alternative than using active-duty forces as President Trump had vowed to do, according to the Associated Press. 

“Using active-duty forces in a direct civilian law enforcement role should remain a last resort, and exercised only in the most urgent and dire of situations,” Esper said, stressing that no active-duty military units engaged protesters or took a direct part in law enforcement in the District of Columbia or other places in the country.

However, Esper and Milley acknowledged during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee that there was confusion in the streets and it was often difficult to tell the difference between the Guard troops and the many law enforcement agencies that also had personnel in Washington.

“The Guard did not advance on the crowd,” Esper said. “The Guard did not shoot rubber bullets. The Guard did not employ chemical agents of any kind. Rather the Guard remained in a static role as backup for law enforcement if needed.”

Said Milley: “With more than 420 arrests and 150 law enforcement officers and half a dozen national Guardsman injured, it was reported to me that it was the worst three days of violence in Washington D.C., in over 30 years.” 

On the issue of who gave the order to clear the crowd June 1 outside the White House so Trump could walk to the nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church, Milley said, “I don’t know. I know Attorney General Barr has spoken to that publicly. And I know that it’s been mentioned to the Park Police captain, ect. I do not have personal knowledge as to who gave that actual order to clear the park.”