The Biden Department of Defense will be keeping National Guard Troops in Washington, D.C. until at least mid-March in part because of a little known QAnon conspiracy theory that could spur another storming of the Capitol, a House Democrat suggested on Wednesday.
“Some of these people have figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the president used to be inaugurated on March 4. OK, now why that’s relevant, God knows, at any rate, now they are thinking maybe we should gather again and storm the Capitol on March 4. … That is circulating online,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said during a committee hearing.
Smith also mused that best way to mitigate the alleged threat of insurrection in the Capitol is for “every single” GOP lawmaker to publicly “acknowledge” that Joe Biden is the legitimate president.
“If you want to know what’s driving the threat environment, it would be helpful if every single elected official and person in a position of power in this country publicly acknowledged that Joe Biden was the duly elected president in a free and fair election,” Smith said. “The degree to which people are still driving that narrative—that narrative then gets taken and put into really wacky sets of arguments that motivate people to say things,” he added.
“Stuff like that circulates all the time. Does it mean it’s going to happen? Probably not, but if you want to help, tell them not to do that. Tell them that the election is over. Joe Biden won,” Smith said. “It was a free and fair election, and let’s get to work. That too would help reduce the, well, I don’t know, fear or paranoia that people feel that requires everything that we’re seeing around here. Both sides could be helpful in getting our Capitol back to normal.”
According to various polls, the vast majority of Republicans and significant numbers of Independents and even Democrats believe the 2020 election was rigged in favor of Joe Biden.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security Robert Salesses said during the hearing Wednesday that the Capitol Police have requested 4,900 troops through March 12.
“The number was based on different missions that they would, the National Guard members would, be supporting, response force, perimeter, security, those kinds of mission sets,” he said. “We’re working with them. As you know, the current request ends on March 12. We’re trying to determine with them is what is the right level of security that they need from the National Guard considering that the circumstances have changed.”
Rep. Smith is notorious for joining serial prevaricator and leaker Rep Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in 2014 to smear the heroic members of the Benghazi Annex Security team when the Obama administration’s grossly incompetent and corrupt handling of the 9/11/2012 attack was being investigated.
During the deadly terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi—which the Obama administration initially falsely claimed was a protest against an anti-Mohammed video— military operatives Mark “Oz” Geist, Kris “Tonto” Paronto and Sgt. John “Tig” Tiegen disobeyed stand down orders and rushed to the sound of guns in an attempt to save American lives.
The security team members testified to Congress behind closed doors that they were repeatedly given stand-down orders, yet Congressmen Smith and Schiff stated in public that a stand-down order was never given, calling the claim a Fox News conspiracy theory.
During a the press conference with Schiff, Smith brazenly lied about what happened. “Myths continue to be brought up,” he said. “One of the big ones is the whole issue of a “stand down order” which was never given.”
Paronto and Geist challenged the pair to “say that to our face” and eventually had an opportunity to debate Smith on Fox News’ Hannity. After being called out, Smith moved the goalposts to say that any stand down orders that came did not come from Washington DC.
“The book is correct. Everything in the book is right. Don’t call us liars and if you’re going to, come to the studio with us, apologize for it,” Paronto said at the time.
Now that same mendacious congressman is insisting that Joe Biden was “duly elected” in “a free and fair election.”