National Guardsmen are now speaking out and sharing their reactions to President Donald Trump’s use of guardsmen to forcefully disperse protesters in Washington, D.C.
Now that troops have been withdrawn from cities, Politico has spoken with 10 guardsmen. Multiple D.C. Guardsmen deployed to Lafayette Square in D.C. recounted their experience.
“As a military officer, what I saw was more or less really f—ed up,” said one D.C. guardsman.
The guardsman went on to express concerns about the Constitution, admitting what he saw goes against his oath.
“The crowd was loud but peaceful, and at no point did I feel in danger, and I was standing right there in the front of the line,” he said. “A lot of us are still struggling to process this, but in a lot of ways, I believe I saw civil rights being violated in order for a photo-op.”
“I’m here to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and what I just saw goes against my oath and to see everyone try to cover up what really happened,” he said, later adding, “What I saw was just absolutely wrong.”
Another guardsman also spoke out about the tear gas. Although the U.S. Park Police previously claimed tear gas was not used, guardsmen have not only admitted that it was used but also revealed they suffered from the effects of it. They have revealed some guardsmen were not wearing masks.
“I’ve been tear-gassed before. I was there the night before when we got tear-gassed, there was tear gas there,” another guardsman said.
Major Gen. William Walker, Commander of the D.C. National Guard, and Torrie Osterholm, director of Psychological Health for the D.C. National Guard, have also confirmed that several Guardsmen reached out this week following the series of events that unfolded last week.
Many of them expressed an array of emotions following the mission they were asked to carry out last week. From the act, itself, to hurtful criticism from family members, many said that the mission blurred the lines on what they stand for.
As of Sunday, Trump announced that troops had been withdrawn from Washington, D.C.
