WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Department and National Guard officials are denying some requests for troops to protect Washington, D.C., just three months after more than 25,000 National Guard troops poured into the nation’s capital to secure President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Defense officials say the Army is approving only about a quarter of the Guard troops requested by city officials to provide security in case of unrest after the upcoming verdict in the the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. The D.C. National Guard says acting Army Secretary John Whitley has approved the deployment of 250 troops. Officials say the city’s initial request was for as many as 1,000.
