Former acting defense secretary Christopher Miller is expected to defend his decisions at a congressional hearing in response to the deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6th, saying that sending in troops would have created the appearance of a “military coup”.
Miller plans to say the military was deliberately restrained on the day of Trump’s January 6 rally, which turned into an assault by hundreds of his followers that left five dead including a police officer. Miller will testify on Wednesday at a hearing held by the House of Representatives oversight committee on unanswered questions from the attack.
National Guard troops did not arrive at the Capitol until about 5.20pm on January 6, more than four hours after the grounds were first breached by the pro-Trump mob. Miller is expected to testify that the Pentagon’s response was “rapid” compared with other military deployments in urban areas, and is also expected to fault Trump for encouraging the violent attack, saying, “I stand by my prior observation that I personally believe his comments encouraged the protesters that day.”
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