On Wednesday, the head of the D.C. National Guard testified that Pentagon leaders put “unusual” restrictions on the deployment of troops to the Capitol complex ahead of January’s assault on Congress. General William Walker told a Senate panel it took over three hours to win approval from the Defense Department to send in National Guard soldiers after he received a frantic call from then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund early on the afternoon of January 6 requesting help. That delay was even longer than previously reported. General Walker contrasted the response with the rapid and aggressive deployment of National Guard troops used to suppress Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.