As late as Sunday, Jan. 3, They said they didn’t need any support, McCarthy said.
At 3:04 pm Wednesday with an angry mob laying siege at the U.S. Capitol, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller ordered the National Guard to help retake the building. It was green light, go, McCarthy said.
This was minutes after McCarthy said he received a call from the U.S. Capitol Hill Police chief who called saying, I need help! They were under duress, McCarthy said.
McCarthy said he sprinted to the acting defense secretary’s office after receiving the urgent plea for help.
At 2:20 pm the Army secretary, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and the head of National Guard Gen. Daniel Hokanson began discussing options for helping the U.S. Capitol Police clearly overwhelmed with the mob. We needed to support the Capitol, I needed to mobilize the entire Guard, McCarthy said.