Kentucky National Guard activated to help secure state capitol, inauguration

(The Center Square) – Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday that the Kentucky National Guard has been activated to assist in securing both next week’s presidential inauguration and the state Capitol as well.

Members of the guard have served during past inaugurations, but Beshear said that given the riot that took place in the U.S. Capitol last week, federal officials have requested more help in Washington. About 270 will be deployed in the District of Columbia and the surrounding region.

“It is our duty to provide these great Kentuckians to ensure that peaceful transition of power occurs and to stand up to domestic terror when we see it,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Justice has arrested 34 people for their roles in the Jan. 6 incident, which left five people dead including a U.S. Capitol Police officer.

The FBI has opened about 200 case files and received 140,000 “digital media tips,” with many coming from colleagues and co-workers of those alleged to have entered the Capitol illegally and disrupted the ratification of the 2020 Presidential Election.

“As I have said repeatedly, our efforts at investigating the wrongdoing of that day are continuing around the clock and we are fully committed to hold those who engaged in criminal acts accountable,” Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said. “Simultaneously, security preparations for the presidential inauguration and peaceful transfer of power continue, and we will have absolutely no tolerance whatsoever for any attempts to disrupt any aspect of the inauguration or associated events leading up to, on, and following January 20.”

While there are plans to bolster security as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to be sworn into office, there have also been reports of threats at the state level across the country.

Beshear declined to discuss specifics but noted that guardsmen and guardswomen will be in Frankfort as well in the coming days.

“We will have the sufficient resources,” the governor said. “We will be prepared to ensure that what happened in the U.S. Capitol does not happen here in Kentucky.”

Several groups have held protests and rallies at the state Capitol grounds in Frankfort over the past 10 months, mainly to demonstrate against the orders Beshear has issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of those protesting have come armed, including individuals attending a rally last Saturday while the General Assembly was in session.

On Thursday, Beshear called last week’s events a paradigm shift

“We cannot view these things as simply people who dress up like it’s Halloween and want to seem tough, and then go home,” the governor said. “We saw an attack on our nation’s Capitol. We have seen kidnapping plots exposed in Michigan. We’ve got to acknowledge what it is, domestic terrorists, and we got to treat it as such.”

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