Misleading: National Guard Forced to Sleep on Floor
The Claim
The Biden administration made the National Guard sleep on the floor in a parking garage.
News posted on
Emerging story
On January 22, 2021, Mark Simone posted on Twitter “It was so sweet to see Jill Biden bring cookies to the National Guard. A beautiful basket of 23 cookies for 25,000 troops. Also nice of the Democrats to take the troops away from their regular jobs and have them sleep on the floor, all for their panic publicity stunt.”
Users across Twitter expressed anger and frustrating towards the news.
Others questioned why individuals care more about soldiers’ wellbeing than children in the same conditions due to ICE.
Misbar’s Analysis
Roughly 25,000 National Guard members were deployed to help ensure President Biden was protected during his inauguration ceremony. These members were brought in from every state on very short notice, and General Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, commented that this was act was truly “an incredible feat.”
In between events, National Guard members took breaks and relaxed in a nearby parking garage. Many of the individuals took the opportunity to lay down. When images of National Guard soldiers “sleeping” in a parking garage surfaced on the internet, many individuals expressed anger towards how soldiers were treated. However, many previous and current soldiers stated that these acts were not abnormal, and they’d experienced similar occurrences during their terms.
One D.C. guard stated that the troops were “resting” in the garage, rather than lodging. The guards were allowed back inside the Capitol after several hours. Still, some report feeling “incredibly betrayed” by the initial order to vacate.
In response to the news related to the soldiers, Joe Biden is noted to have expressed “dismay” regarding their treatment. The Capitol Police Interim Chief Yogananda has also stated that she “did not instruct the National Guard to vacate the Capitol Building facilities.” In other words, she states that her offices did not tell the soldiers to relocate to the parking garage. Similarly, Biden’s office didn’t seem aware of these conditions. Nevertheless, political parties are making efforts to ensure in the future all service members are provided appropriate areas for breaks.
With the currently available evidence and information concerning the claim, Misbar finds this information to be misleading.
