Around 500 New Jersey-based National Guard soldiers and airmen have deployed to Washington, D.C., to aid security after the Capitol building was stormed Wednesday.
They are expected to remain in the city at least through the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Around 90 citizen soldiers from Troop B, 102nd Cavalry Regiment left from the West Orange armory Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
The 500 citizen soldiers and airmen from around the state deployed to D.C. between Friday and Sunday. That number includes approximately the 90 from West Orange, 90 from Mount Holly and 100 from Blackwood. The rest came from the 508th Military Police Company in Teaneck and airmen from the 108th Wing and 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor Township.
“Due to recent events down in Washington D.C. and civil unrest, that definitely changed the picture for the New Jersey National Guard and our citizen soldiers were called up to help respond,” Ryan Harty, operations officer of the state’s National Guard, said previously.
The National Guard, which includes police and corrections officers, began deploying Friday and continued throughout the weekend.
The New Jersey National Guard also deployed to the capital in May to aid officers during civil unrest surrounding the Black Lives Matter protests in May.
New Jersey is among several states, including New York and Virginia, sending help to Washington D.C.
Gov. Phil Murphy announced the deployment Thursday, the day after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building while Congress met to certify the election results.
The violent clashes resulted in the death of five people, including Brian Sicknick, a 42-year-old Capitol Police officer originally from Middlesex County.
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