On Thursday (January 7), Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said he was repeatedly denied authorization to send the National Guard to help out during the Wednesday (January 6) attack on the US Capitol.
Hogan said he first heard news of the Capitol breach while on a call with Japan’s ambassador. His staff interrupted him and he immediately went to work organizing an emergency meeting to send reinforcements to the neighboring national capital.
According to a report by The Week, Gov. Hogan said he was contacted by Rep. Steny Hoyer who told him Capitol Police were “overwhelmed” by the rioters who breach the Capitol building.
Rep. Hoyer reportedly pleaded with Gov. Hogan to send assistance. According to a Washington Post report, Maryland's National Guard Head Maj. Gen. Timothy Gowen was reportedly denied deployment authorization by the National Guard on a federal level.
According to Gov. Hogan’s account, it took 90 minutes before Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy called and asked for the help from Maryland’s National Guard force.
“We’ve been waiting. We’re ready.” Hogan told McCarthy after finally getting the call.
“I can’t tell you what was going on on the other end, on the decision-making process,” Hogan said. “There’s been lots of speculation in the media about that, but I’m not privy to what was going on inside the White House or inside the Pentagon.”
The governor vowed to deploy his state’s 500-member National Guard force to assist in the peaceful transition of power in the coming days. “[I] want to assure all Americans that the state of Maryland will do anything and everything we possibly can to continue to secure the core of our nation’s capital and to ensure the peaceful transition of power.”
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