Skip to content
NOWCAST WISN 12 News at 10 p.m.
Watch on Demand
Advertisement

Images of National Guard troops sleeping in parking garages set off firestorm

Images online of National Guard troops sleeping in parking garages in Washington, D.C. startled lawmakers.

Images of National Guard troops sleeping in parking garages set off firestorm

Images online of National Guard troops sleeping in parking garages in Washington, D.C. startled lawmakers.

TELL ME WISCONSIN’S TROOPS WERE NOT A PART OF IT. 26,000 NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS WERE SENT TO THE NATION’S CAPITAL TO PROTECT INAUGURATION DAY, MORE THAN 550 FROM WISCONSIN, BUT THE IMAGES THAT SURFACED ONLINE OF TROOPS SLEEPING IN PARKING GARAGES SET OFF A FIRESTORM. ARE ANY OF THOSE PEOPLE FROM WISCONSIN? >> THE SHORT ANSWER IS NO. THEY ALL HAD THEIR HOTEL ROOMS. THEY WERE WORKING LONG DAYS CERTAINLY. COURTNEY: WITHIN THEIR SHIFTS, THERE WERE BREAKS WHERE GUARD MEMBERS COULD GO TO WARMING CENTERS, INCLUDING PARKING GARAGES. >> NONE OF THEM SLEPT THERE BY ANY MEANS. THEY ALL HAD HOT MEALS AND WERE TAKEN CARE OF. COURTNEY: SEVERAL GOVERNORS SAW THE IMAGES AND CALLED THEIR TROOPS HOME. SENATOR JOHNSON ISSUED THIS STATEMENT SAYING COURTNEY: WHAT ARE ANY COMPLAINTS FROM MEMBERS DURING YOUR TIME THERE? >> THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION. I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER ON THAT ONE EITHER. NO FORMAL COMPLAINTS THAT WE ARE AWARE OF. JOYCE: IS THERE ANY WORD ON WHY TROOPS WERE SENT TO THE GARAGE IN THE FIRST PLACE? COURTNEY: THE D.C. GUARD DID SAY THAT ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS FOOT TRAFFIC INCREASED, CAPITOL POLICE SUGGESTED THEY MOVE INTO THE PARKING GARAGE, BUT TONIGHT WE KNOW THEY ARE BACK AT THE
Advertisement
Images of National Guard troops sleeping in parking garages set off firestorm

Images online of National Guard troops sleeping in parking garages in Washington, D.C. startled lawmakers.

Advertisement