This week, active-duty troops from Fort Drum in New York and Fort Bragg in North Carolina were deployed to the national capital region as part of a "prudent planning" measure in response to protests in the nation's capital over the death of George Floyd.
Then those forces were told to go back home.
Then they were told to stay.
Then they were sent home.
"You marshall forces close so that if something went bad you were in a position to act," Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy told reporters at the Pentagon Friday afternoon when asked about the inconsistent reporting of the whereabouts of these 82nd Airborne paratroopers.
Those troops were deployed to the region surrounding Washington, D.C. -- but were never sent into the city. Doing so would have had significant legal implications, namely the invoking of the Insurrection Act.
"If the 82nd is across the river and we felt like we had lost control, you would have had to (invoke the Insurrection Act) -- legally," McCarthy explained. "Because you would have brought active-duty personnel into action."
While Trump threatened to deploy active troops to quell violence on Monday during his remarks in the Rose Garden, that threat drew criticism from former and current military leadership. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters on Wednesday that he did not support invoking the Insurrection Act.
President on the fence about deploying active duty troops to American cities SECDEF: ‘I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act’
Was invoking the act being considered, though? McCarthy says yes. But it didn't end up being necessary, so McCarthy says everyone "went to bed."
"It was a clam night," McCarthy said of the first night that paratroopers arrived in the area. "We watched it very closely. We had the whole National Guard out -- all 1,200 of them -- and a vast number of increased federal agents on the street."
After several peaceful nights of protesting, McCarthy said the decision was made to send the forces back to their home stations rather than continue causing the "tremendous tension" their presence created.
When word of Saturday's demonstration began to circulate, however, the DoD reconsidered. Saturday's protest is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to the city, and McCarthy explained that the possible need for extra personnel was again considered.
After bolstering the D.C. National Guard with troops from 11 other states, however, the paratroopers were -- once again -- ordered to head home.
More than 5,100 National Guard troops remain in the nation's capital. The city's mayor has asked President Donald Trump to withdraw them.
More states send Guard troops to D.C. despite mayor’s withdrawal request
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