Two South Carolina National Guardsmen deployed to Washington D.C. to respond to civil unrest found glass baked in a pizza they ordered while staying in an area hotel, though details of the incident are unclear.
The soldiers found broken glass in the dough and cheese of the pizza they ordered, according to a Defense Department report shared with The Post and Courier. The soldiers did not eat the pizza and were not injured.
“The command says that the soldiers are OK, and that this was the only incident to their knowledge,” Capt. Jessica Donnelly, a spokeswoman for S.C. National Guard told the publication.
Donnelly told the publication that the soldiers were advised to file a police report on following the incident, but a separate spokeswoman for the D.C. Metro Police Department said no report was filed at the time.
The incident occurred amid deployments of National Guard units from various states to respond to increasingly destructive demonstrations following the death of a black man, George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. A police officer, Derek Chauvin was filmed with his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes before Floyd was pronounced dead. Floyd’s death sparked protests which spread to cities across the country.
Protests spread to Washington D.C. and rioting and looting did occur, prompting the deployment of National Guard units from Indiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee, New Jersey and Utah.
National Guard units were also brought in to help reinforce security measures around the White House.
More than 60 Secret Service agents were injured between Friday and Sunday of the first weekend of demonstrations in Washington D.C. as demonstrators reportedly threw bricks, rocks, bottles, fireworks and other items and reportedly kicked and punched members of the president’s protective service.
The following weekend reportedly saw less severe protest actions and on Sunday, President Donald Trump ordered the drawdown of all National Guard units from Washington D.C.
“Much smaller crowd in D.C. than anticipated. National Guard, Secret Service, and D.C. Police have been doing a fantastic job. Thank you!” Trump tweeted Saturday night.
Much smaller crowd in D.C. than anticipated. National Guard, Secret Service, and D.C. Police have been doing a fantastic job. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2020
According to the Post Courier, members of S.C. National Guard faced little confrontation from protesters, however, two guardsmen were hospitalized after lightning struck near where they were stationed in support of White House security measures at Lafayette Park.
This article has been updated to emphasize the lack of clarity in official reports of this incident.
