Rhode Island National Guard deploys to Washington D.C. and to State House over the weekend

As a second group of Rhode Island National Guard personnel traveled to Washington D.C. on Sunday, a contingent of troops patrolled the area of the State House, supporting a defense force that grew noticeably through the weekend.

The increased presence of state troopers and Guard troops at the State House came in response to recent warnings about the potential for violence at all state capitol buildings on Sunday, officials said, emphasizing that they were not aware of any credible threats regarding the Rhode Island State House.

“That doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t just discount it,” said the commander of the Rhode Island State Police, Col. James M. Manni.

“We take every threat seriously,” he said.

The state police, Manni said, have kept an increased presence at the State House since the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which was a “game changer” for security at the hub of Rhode Island’s government.

Neither Manni nor a spokesman for the Rhode Island National Guard, Lt. Col. Dennis Pineault, would comment on the specific numbers of personnel on duty Sunday.

But the numbers of troopers had grown noticeably over the weekend. It included a formation of four cruisers parked on the terrace in front of the building and other units positioned elsewhere on the grounds.

Meanwhile, a small fleet of Humvees, painted in desert and northern woods camouflage schemes, could be seen patrolling local streets.

Manni called the guard units a “force multiplier.”

He said he hoped the heightened presence would reassure Rhode Islanders with concerns about security and that it would deter anyone who might have “bad intentions.”

“We’re prepared for any and all incidents that could occur,” Manni said.

Meanwhile, two different groups of  R.I. National Guard personnel, a force of 75 to 100 Guard members, were adapting to the rigors of a weekend deployment to support heightened security in the U.S. Capitol, according to Pineault.

Members of Rhode Island Air National Guard’s 143rd Security Forces Squadron, whose jobs are similar to military police in the Army, left for Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

On Sunday around 7 a.m., said Pineault, members of the Army Guard’s 182nd Infantry as well as troops whose local company is part of the Texas-based 143rd Airborne Infantry Battalion boarded buses at Camp Fogarty and headed for the nation’s capital.

The Guard typically sends personnel to support security operations for the inauguration of the president but the “sheer volume” of deployments is different this time and the circumstances are unprecedented, Pineault said.

Each of the local troops, he said, has been deployed with “full kit,” everything they need to do their jobs, but they did not bring vehicles.

Pineault said he expected National Guard commanders in Washington D.C. to assign the Rhode Island personnel to task forces, which will govern what they do. 

As of late Sunday morning the troops who arrived Saturday were still waiting for those instructions, he said.

Some 25,000 National Guard troops from around the country were due in the city in the coming days, according to the Associated Press.

Tall fencing surrounded the U.S. Capitol, the National Mall was closed to the general public, and the city’s mayor had asked people not to visit, says an AP report. 

The Rhode Island-based troops, who frequently work with local police, have received extensive training to prepare them for domestic operations in the United States, Pineault said.

The Guard members will sleep in hotels or in other quarters set up indoors, he said.

It isn’t clear how long they will stay on their deployment, but Pineault said he expects they will probably be among the last troops to leave; they are joining troops who have already been in place for a while.