Soldiers Begin Work Protecting the Capitol
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National Guard troops took up posts Friday near the Capitol, the first time since 1968 riots that soldiers are protecting the complex.
The deployment of 15 troops from the District of Columbia National Guard was aimed at relieving Capitol Police officers who have been working 12-hour, six-day weeks since the Sept. 11 attacks. The soldiers are military police officers who wear camouflage fatigues and carry 9-millimeter sidearms.
Soldiers have also guarded the Capitol during World War II, the 1932 riots by World War I veterans, the Civil War and the War of 1812, Capitol Police spokesman Lt. Dan Nichols said.
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