{"id":22968,"date":"2020-06-02T14:13:06","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T14:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/02\/guard-troops-in-dc-say-they-want-to-give-people-the-opportunity-to-express-their-first-amendment-rights\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:10:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:10:41","slug":"guard-troops-in-dc-say-they-want-to-give-people-the-opportunity-to-express-their-first-amendment-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/06\/02\/guard-troops-in-dc-say-they-want-to-give-people-the-opportunity-to-express-their-first-amendment-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Guard troops in DC say they want to \u2018give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/\/_rUmiz_SXiE' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hours after the sometimes chaotic protesting died down, two soldiers with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/06\/01\/national-guard-civil-unrest-update-more-than-17000-troops-in-23-states-and-dc-activated\/\" target=_blank>D.C. National Guard<\/a> kept watch at the mostly calm corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street N.W.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was about 11:30 p.m. at the midpoint between the White House and the Capitol building and Staff Sgt. Jeremy French and Pfc. Rich Lynch were stationed to make sure no vehicles headed northwest on Pennsylvania Ave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They were part of the largest domestic mobilization of Guard troops in the nation\u2019s history, with more than 17,000 activated for civil unrest duties and about 45,000 more to help with the response to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The D.C. troops were armed only with defensive weapons, Guard officials said. Rubber bullets, shields and batons. They were not assigned to arrest or detain anyone, and the use of proportional force was only allowed if their lives were endangered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt kind of makes sense to me that they would chose Washington, D.C., to come and be heard,\u201d French said of the thousands of people who flooded into town to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who prosecutors say was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who had his knee on a restrained Floyd\u2019s throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s because right there in the background is the U.S. Capitol,\u201d said French, nodding his head toward the gleaming domed structure four blocks to the southeast. \u201cThose are the people who make the laws. So if you had something you wanted to be able to have your voice heard about, to make an impact and maybe change, that would be the place to do it. So I think this is the appropriate place to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG5.JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG5.JPG.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG5.JPG.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG5.JPG.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG5.JPG.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG5.JPG.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG5.JPG.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D.C. National Guard Staff Sgt. Jeremy French (left) and PFC Rich Lynch on post at the corner of 7th St. N.W. and Pennsylvania Ave. Howard Altman photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">French and Lynch were pulling duty several hours after President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/06\/01\/trump-plans-to-use-active-duty-military-forces-to-deal-with-growing-protests\/\" target=\"_blank\">announced his intentions<\/a> to call in active duty troops to respond to the growing unrest that is sweeping the nation, resulting in several deaths, massive destruction and hundreds of thousands of people expressing their outrage over racial injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">French avoided politics, saying his perspective is just from his position at the intersection of 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue. But he said it is local law enforcement, not the military, that is best suited to coping with the looting, burning and violence that has erupted along with peaceful protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve seen some protesters come up and down, back and forth, but it seems like it\u2019s been pretty peaceful,\u201d said French, 49, who previously served with the Marines in both the first Gulf War and Afghanistan and later as a contractor working in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m definitely not an expert on civil disturbances,\u201d he said, \u201cso it looks to me like the D.C. Metro Police are doing a pretty good job of controlling the situation and with us in general support, maybe this is enough. I\u2019m not really sure if you brought more military in that they would be able to do anything any different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The D.C. Metro Police \u201care specially trained for this mission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he spoke, several police cars speed north, lights flashing, down 7th Avenue toward some unknown event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHere in the nation\u2019s capital, protest is not a new thing,\u201d said French. \u201cNeither are large activities like Fourth of July celebrations, parades, things of that nature. So I believe protest activity is something better left to the experts and I would say the experts are definitely D.C. Metro Police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe military is trained in crowd-control techniques and tactics, however that is with more of a DoD type of flair in a deployed environment,\u201d said French. \u201cBut this is the U.S. It is a little bit different here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/06\/01\/national-guard-civil-unrest-update-more-than-17000-troops-in-23-states-and-dc-activated\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20151539332889.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">National Guard civil unrest update: More than 17,000 troops in 23 states and DC activated<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Thousands of National Guard troops have been activated across the nation to deal with civil unrest.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Protecting Rights<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both French and Lynch said they felt their mission was essential to upholding the constitutional rights of free assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lynch, the private first class, spent half of his 20 years as a resident of the District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m just doing my job,\u201d he said. \u201cI know a lot about this area and how these people feel about the situations going on, but I am just doing what I am supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s making sure motorists don\u2019t drive toward the White House, or interfere with those who are protesting. Helping to block the street was a tan light medium tactical vehicle from the D.C. National Guard motor pool, parked in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe mission is to separate the good protesters and then the rioters and looters,\u201d said Lynch. \u201cYou kind of have to draw the line between which is which.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How do you do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJust see the actions they take, they speak louder than words,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they are throwing bricks at you, they are not there to be peaceful. If they are just holding up signs and not causing any violence, why should we use violence, you know?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG3.JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG3.JPG.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG3.JPG.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG3.JPG.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG3.JPG.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG3.JPG.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DCNG3.JPG.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A D.C. National Guard Humvee parked near the intersection of 16th St. N.W. and K St. Howard Altman photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lynch said that he\u2019s had positive interactions with most of those who have taken to the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople are now starting to associate our uniforms with police uniforms \u2014 and that\u2019s the thing: We are not police,\u201d he said, smiling. \u201cWe are not here to arrest you for jaywalking or smoking whatever you want to smoke. We are here to just assist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">French said that Washington \u201cis near and dear to my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was my first duty station in the Marine Corps,\u201d he said.\u201d I was stationed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barracks.marines.mil\/\">Marine Barracks 8th and I<\/a> back in 1989 so that\u2019s 30 years ago. &#8230;my civilian job was in Washington, D.C. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a D.C. Guardsman, French said \u201cwe are out here in general support of the D.C. Metro Police to help ensure public safety for everybody, provide the opportunity for protesters to assemble peacefully and try to reduce the amount of the unlawful activity that is going on after hours in certain areas being done by certain people. So I think it is a pretty important job for all of the Americans who were out here, to give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights but within the legal boundary of the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For French, Monday was his first night on the streets during the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve had a very positive experience,\u201d he said. \u201cBeen treated well by passers by and the like. I\u2019ve had several conversations with folks, so I have been treated really well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Esper and Milley visit troops after church tumult<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it was calm in Washington near midnight Monday, several hours earlier the scene near the White House at St. John\u2019s Episcopal Church at 15th and H streets NW was bedlam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those protesting were hit with tear gas as Trump and a coterie of officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley made their way to the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Law enforcement officers were aggressively forcing the protesters back, firing tear gas and deploying flash bangs into the crowd to disperse them from the park for seemingly no reason. It was a jarring scene as police in the nation\u2019s capital forcefully cleared young men and women gathered legally in a public park on a sunny evening, all of it on live television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With smoke still wafting and isolated tussles continuing in the crowd, Trump emerged in the Rose Garden for a dramatic split-screen of his own creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters,&#8221; he declared, before demanding that governors across the nation deploy the National Guard \u201cin sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets.\u201d And Trump warned that, if the governors refused, he would deploy the United States military \u201cand quickly solve the problem for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As an additional show of force, Trump announced he was deploying even more of the military to Washington, giving it the feel of an armed, locked-down city after days of violent clashes, arson and looting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs we speak I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers,&#8221; he said, as explosions rang out in the background. \u201cWe are putting everybody on warning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hours later, Esper and Milley, along with Army Chief of Staff, Gen. James McConville and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy arrived at 15th and K streets NW to talk with D.C. Guardsmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThanks for being out here,\u201d said Esper, his arms crossed, to one of the soldiers. \u201cThanks for your service. You want to go on active duty?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper did not take questions from a small group of reporters on the scene. But Milley spoke for about half a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those gathered, he said, can \u201cprotest, but to protest peacefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon\u2019s top officer said his message on this night was to \u201callow freedom to assemble, freedom of speech, that\u2019s perfectly fine. We support that. We took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America to do that. And to protect everyone\u2019s rights. And that\u2019s what we do. We\u2019ve got the D.C. National Guard out here and I was just checking to see how well they are doing, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just before midnight, the young PFC who spent half his life as a resident of the District reflected on an historic turn of events in a city that has been burned and looted over days of protest both peaceful and violent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI walked up and down these streets as a civilian before I joined the Guard,\u201d said Pfc. Rich Lynch. \u201cAnd to see the way it looks now, it\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This story contains information from the Associated Press<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Army GEN Mark Milley CJCS talks about the right to peaceful protest. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MilitaryTimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MilitaryTimes<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8qOKVC4W5L\">pic.twitter.com\/8qOKVC4W5L<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Howard Altman (@haltman) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/haltman\/status\/1267625073751609351?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe mission is to separate the good protesters and then the rioters and looters. You kind of have to draw the line between which is which,&#8221; said one private first-class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":47462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,22,8,23,92,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3264],"class_list":["post-22968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"QQUFOHXALRBG7EYJSJ3HG77NVA","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/06\/02\/guard-troops-in-dc-say-they-want-to-give-people-the-opportunity-to-express-their-first-amendment-rights\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Guard troops in DC say they want to \u2018give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights\u2019 - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cThe mission is to separate the good protesters and then the rioters and looters. You kind of have to draw the line between which is which,&quot; said one private first-class.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guard troops in DC say they want to \u2018give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThe mission is to separate the good protesters and then the rioters and looters. 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