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On Monday, the US Capitol was unguarded by the National Guard for the first time in almost five months. On Monday, 2149 out of 26,000 troops formally completed their assignment to guard Congress.
Hundreds of supporters of then-President Donald Trump rushed the Capitol, stopping the joint session intended to affirm Trump’s opponent Joe Biden as the presidential election winner.
Some broke into members’ offices and demanded that politicians and Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the session, be killed.
Thousands of National Guard troops were recruited to guard the Capitol area day and night, giving the impression that it was under siege, amid worries of fresh attacks around and following Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
The Marines stayed in Washington for months after the inauguration to investigate what many called an insurgency.
Trump, who was impeached for allegedly instigating the attack, later stated that the perpetrators posed “zero threat” to Congress and minimised the incident.
About 440 individuals have been detained and charged as a result of the January 6 assaults, according to the FBI. Several of them have ties to armed militia organisations.
