Gen. Milley Says Soldiers Sent to DC Amid Protests Were Given Bayonets

A report was confirmed that some soldiers who were sent to Washington, D.C., amid the protests following the death of 👤George Floyd, were given bayonets.

The Associated Press (AP) confirmed from Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley that soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg in North Carolina and the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment based just outside D.C. were sent, but were not actually deployed into D.C. amid the protests. Those members were issued bayonets.

The soldiers, however, were told the bayonets could not be on their rifle and had to be in their scabbard. They were also told they were not allowed to have weapons when entering the city without orders, Milley said in a letter to representatives on June 26, according to the letter obtained by the AP.

Additionally, the AP reports that some of the soldiers deployed were not trained in riot response.

Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Milley on June 22 with concerns about the reported use of bayonets.

“The escalation and violence leading up to and following those killings included those same troops meeting peaceful demonstrators with bayonets,” they wrote.

However, Milley did not say in his response letter that bayonets would not be used in the future for domestic protests.