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D.C. National Guard Chief Fired Days Before Trump Inauguration: "The Timing Is Extremely Unusual"
zerohedge ^ | Jan 13, 2017 4:50 | Tyler Durden

Posted on 01/13/2017 7:39:55 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com

"It doesn't make sense to can the general in the middle of an active deployment," rages D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) after Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz, who heads the D.C. National Guard and is an integral part of overseeing the inauguration, has been ordered removed from command effective Jan. 20, 12:01 p.m., just as Donald Trump is sworn in as president.

As The Washington Post reports, Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz's departure will come in the midst of the presidential ceremony, classified as a national special security event — and while thousands of his troops are deployed to help protect the nation's capital during an inauguration he has spent months helping to plan.

"The timing is extremely unusual," Schwartz said in an interview Friday morning, confirming a memo announcing his ouster that was obtained by The Washington Post.

During the inauguration, Schwartz would command not only the members of the D.C. guard but also an additional 5,000 unarmed troops sent in from across the country to help. He also would oversee military air support protecting the nation's capital during the inauguration.

"My troops will be on the street," Schwartz, who turned 65 in October, said, "I'll see them off but I won’t be able to welcome them back to the armory." He said that he would "never plan to leave a mission in the middle of a battle."

Schwartz, who was appointed to head the guard by President George W. Bush in 2008, maintained the position through President Obama's two terms. He said his orders came from the Pentagon but that he doesn't know who made the decision.

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) blasted the decision to remove Schwartz, especially on Inauguration Day.

"It doesn't make sense to can the general in the middle of an active deployment," Mendelson said. He added that Schwartz’s sudden departure would be a long-term loss for the District. "He's been really very good at working with the community and my impression was that he was good for the Guard."

Unlike in states, where the governor appoints the National Guard commander, in the District that duty falls to the president.

Schwartz said that he has not been told why he was asked to step down. "I'm a soldier," he said, noting that he was following orders and has no regrets. "I'm a presidential appointee, therefore the president has the power to remove me."

Is this just another part of Obama's "smooth" transition? Or is something even MORE sinister at work here, since we already know that anti-Trump activists are planning "the biggest protest in US history" on the day of the inauguration?

* * *

As we noted previously, radical leftists are planning to make January 20th the most chaotic Inauguration Day in American history. Their stated goal is to "disrupt" the Inauguration festivities as much as possible, and they are planning a wide range of "actions" to achieve that stated goal. Some of the more moderate groups are using terms such as "civil resistance" and "civil disobedience", but others are openly talking about "blockades", jumping barricades, throwing projectiles and "citywide paralysis". My hope is that all of their efforts will turn out to be a big flop, but it is important to understand that these groups are well funded, highly organized and extremely motivated. The election of Donald Trump has been perhaps the single most galvanizing moment for the radical left in modern American history, and they are working very hard to turn January 20th into a major political statement.

In fact, just recently one activist group took out a full page ad in the New York Times…

Thousands of activists, journalists, scientists, entertainers, and other prominent voices took out a full-page call to action in the New York Times on Wednesday making clear their rejection of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence with the simple message: “No!”

"Stop the Trump/Pence regime before it starts! In the name of humanity we refuse to accept a fascist America!" the ad states, followed by a list of signatories that includes scholar Cornel West; author Alice Walker; Chase Iron Eyes of the Standing Rock Sioux; educator Bill Ayers; poet Saul Williams; CNN‘s Marc Lamont Hill; Carl Dix of the Communist Party USA; and numerous others.

The ad pointed people to refusefascism.org, and it asserted that Trump must be stopped whether he was legitimately elected or not…

Trump promises to inflict repression and suffering on people in this country, to deport millions, to increase violence up to the use of nuclear weapons on people across the globe, and to inflict catastrophes upon the planet itself. He has assembled a cabinet of Christian fundamentalist fanatics, war mongers, racists, science deniers. NO! His regime must not be allowed to consolidate. We REFUSE to accept a Fascist America!

If you go to refusefascism.org, you will discover that the protests that they are organizing in Washington D.C. will begin on January 14th. They say that they want to "stop the Trump-Pence regime before it starts", and they hope to have protests going "every day and every night" without interruption through at least January 20th.

Another group that plans to kick things off on January 14th is DisruptJ20. Of course that is short for "Disrupt January 20th". If you go to their official website, you will find a long slate of events that have already been scheduled.

According to Legba Carrefour, a spokesperson for DisruptJ20, one of the goals of the group is to block major transportation routes into and throughout our nation's capital. And he is not shy about the fact that they literally want to "shut down the Inauguration"…

"We are planning to shut down the inauguration, that's the short of it," he says. "We're pretty literal about that, we are trying to create citywide paralysis on a level that I don't think has been seen in D.C. before. We're trying to shut down pretty much every ingress into the city as well as every checkpoint around the actual inauguration parade route."

If Carrefour and his fellow conspirators are able to actually accomplish that, it truly would be unprecedented.

And while DisruptJ20 is not publicly advocating violence, they are not exactly discouraging it either…

Carrefour says DisruptJ20 has no publicly announced plans to jump barricades along the inauguration parade route or throw projectiles at the new president, but that autonomous direct actions are encouraged.

"I can't comment on specific stuff we're doing like that, mostly because that would be illegal. But, yeah, it will get pretty crazy, I expect," he says. "'Have fun!' I say."

After the rioting that we have seen in Baltimore, Ferguson, Charlotte and many other communities around the nation in recent years, I hope that authorities are taking these threats quite seriously.

Once Donald Trump won the election, many conservatives seemed to think that the war was won. But the truth of the matter is that many on the left were completely blindsided by Trump's surprise victory, and now that they are fully awake they are gearing up for battle like never before.

And these protests are not going to end on January 20th. In fact, abortion advocates are hoping to get close to a million women into Washington D.C. on the day following the Inauguration to protest for abortion rights. Filmmaker Michael Moore is hoping that this march will be the beginning of "100 days of resistance" against Trump's presidency…

Filmmaker and liberal icon Michael Moore has announced his plans to attend the Women's March on Washington to protest Donald Trump's inauguration later this month and has called for sore loser liberals to go further — by staging protests acts of resistance through the first 100 days of Trump's presidency.

In an appearance, this weekend on MSNBC's The Last Word, the 62-year-old Trumpland and Fahrenheit 9/11 director made a "call to arms" to those opposed to Trump's presidency to join the Women's March on Washington scheduled for January 21, the day after the presidential inauguration.

"It's important that everybody go there," Moore told MSNBC's Ari Melber.

Of course it is easy to imagine how all of this could spiral wildly out of control. If Trump cracks down on these protests really hard in an attempt to restore law and order, that could end up sparking a dramatic backlash against his "police state tactics". And if the protests become even bigger and more violent, Trump could respond by cracking down even more harshly.

Let us hope for some really cold weather in D.C. at the end of January so that as many troublemakers as possible get discouraged and stay home. Violent protests, blockades and riots aren't going to solve anything, and they could easily open fresh wounds in a nation that is becoming more divided with each passing day.


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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

Happy Birthday to your mom!


21 posted on 01/13/2017 8:11:06 PM PST by combat_boots (God bless Israel and all who protect and defend her! And please, God, bless the USA again.)
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To: Reno89519

This is the best story so far—this order by Ibama is odd and scary.


22 posted on 01/13/2017 8:11:28 PM PST by Mamzelle
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To: xrmusn

If he is appointed by the president how can the DOD fire him without the sitting president’s permission?

As for the incoming president accepting resignations, is this done weeks before he’s sworn in?


23 posted on 01/13/2017 8:17:26 PM PST by Terry Mross (I'm trying to be more tolerant of everyone. Including ignorant people.)
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To: Steve_Seattle

This is a concerted effort by the Washington establishment - both parties (establishments), bureaucrats, lobbyists, the intelligence community, the media - to protect their current scheme to enrich themselves. “Drain the swamp” - they are the swamp. Congress is a job for life, with golden parachutes we can only dream of. Bureaucrats are protected from accountability to an extent we dream of. They know it is all or nothing at this point. Keep your powder dry.


24 posted on 01/13/2017 8:18:01 PM PST by TStro (Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.)
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To: Terry Mross
"Obviously the current president fired the general. "

I agree. Trump hasn't the authority to do this...yet. Obama hired him in 2008, so I'm assuming this is just another under-handed act performed by the Kenyan to create trouble.

25 posted on 01/13/2017 8:20:15 PM PST by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway...John Wayne)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

Revenge. First time I saw this info. Zero is a hateful, nasty, evil low life.


26 posted on 01/13/2017 8:20:42 PM PST by madison10 (Pray for Israel & the Peace of Jerusalem)
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To: TexasGator

Never saw it. Reposting is not always bad.


27 posted on 01/13/2017 8:21:39 PM PST by madison10 (Pray for Israel & the Peace of Jerusalem)
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To: Terry Mross
Obviously the current president fired the general. Trump should reappoint him at the beginning of his inaugural address.

It is the other way around. The General submitted his resignation along with other Government political appointees, as is custom, and Trump accepted his resignation. All accepted resignations take effect at 12:01pm on 20 Jan.

28 posted on 01/13/2017 8:24:45 PM PST by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: Reno89519

zero times for yesterday - it’s over. LOL


29 posted on 01/13/2017 8:25:16 PM PST by greeneyes
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To: Terry Mross

I really don’t know. Someone suggested maybe he ‘heavy handed’ the Pentagon (because of his immunity)and they recommended against him - Look at the mileage they got over not renewing the Parade MC.

It is hard to get any REAL facts on any of these things as the MSM keeps changing the story with only ONE thing in common:

Make it as negative towards Trump as possible.
I get the online only WashCompost (wouldn’t buy it if they paid me) and EVERY story and editorial is slanted towards Trump and his Appointees.


30 posted on 01/13/2017 8:26:17 PM PST by xrmusn ((6/98)" "If you see a civilian in cammies -- bump into him")
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To: Reno89519

As many times as allowed By Law!


31 posted on 01/13/2017 8:27:17 PM PST by Big Red Badger (UNSCANABLE in an IDIOCRACY!)
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To: mass55th
Obama hired him in 2008

GWB hired him - Obama kept him on by rejecting his resignation in 2009 and 2013. Trump accepted his resignation (He turned 65 in October FWIW).

So no one fired him, GWB hired him and O chose to not accept his resignation in 2009 and 2013.

Quite easy to understand but that way it doesn't make the front page of the newspaper.

32 posted on 01/13/2017 8:29:06 PM PST by Abby4116
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com
There has been continuous political schemes and even assassination threats made against Donald Trump. On August 2, 2016, a daily prayer vigil began for candidate Donald Trump that eventually included Mike Pence. I would especially ask fellow FREEPERS to join with pray meditation for President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during these crucial times. "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." 1 John 5:14-15 NASB http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3513593/posts Also, a new prayer request tonight: Please pray for us FreeRepublic | January 13, 2017 | 2ndDivisionVet Posted on 1/13/2017, 11:03:17 PM by 2ndDivisionVet "My wife was not feeling at all well this morning as she accompanied me at a podiatrist's appointment at the V.A. When we got home her condition worsened. She could barely see, had a pounding headache and was very dizzy. So we drove to the emergency room of a close-by hospital, where they did numerous tests. She is in the midst of an ongoing stroke. Please pray for her." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3513805/posts
33 posted on 01/13/2017 8:30:33 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
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To: Reno89519

LOL

I assumed this armchair General was white.

Yeah, he might be not the best guy to order his troops to break the heads of the communist/anarchists/ragheads that have in a complete misunderstanding of the new reality announced ahead of time and identified themselves as domestic enemies.

Unarmed won’t do.

HONOR THE OATH

The effin party is over.

USA USA USA

AMERICA FIRST

COMMUNIST OUT!!


34 posted on 01/13/2017 8:37:50 PM PST by Rome2000 (SMASH THE CPUSA-SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS-CLOSE ALL MOSQUES)
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To: Abby4116

Thanks for the correction. I’ll blame my error on old age. That excuse does come in handy from time to time.


35 posted on 01/13/2017 8:40:09 PM PST by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway...John Wayne)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

I apologize. I am not techy & my post #33 blurred. The following is a corrected easier read:

Thank you.

There has been continuous political schemes and even assassination threats made against Donald Trump. On August 2, 2016, a daily prayer vigil began for candidate Donald Trump that eventually included Mike Pence.

I just posted to ask fellow FREEPERS to join with pray meditation for President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during these crucial times.

“is the confidence which we have before Him. that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14-15 NASB

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3513593/posts

Also, a new prayer request tonight:
Please pray for us FreeRepublic

2ndDivisionVet Posted on 1/13/2017, 11:03:17 PM
“My wife was not feeling at all well this morning as she accompanied me at a podiatrist’s appointment at the V.A. When we got home her condition worsened. She could barely see, had a pounding headache and was very dizzy. So we drove to the emergency room of a close-by hospital, where they did numerous tests. She is in the midst of an ongoing stroke. Please pray for her.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3513805/posts


36 posted on 01/13/2017 8:44:11 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
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To: Reno89519
On another thread, the government claimed that there is no credible security threat with regard to the inauguration, yet for weeks we've been hearing protest organizers threatening to shut down not only the inauguration but the entire city, and they've claimed that they'll have tens or even hundreds of thousands of protesters on hand, with no promise of non-violence. This is not a security threat?

I personally think that there is the possibility of mass rioting during the inauguration, up to and including the possibility of an assassination attempt. The press almost seem to be egging it on.
37 posted on 01/13/2017 8:44:19 PM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: Cedar
Think Mr. Trump should just surprise everyone and get sworn in at midnight in a conference room.

and of course, he'd be at his desk at 8am SHARP that morning.

leave the parties for the weekend.

i'd love for this to happen. it'd send an awesome message to America

38 posted on 01/13/2017 8:49:24 PM PST by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

They should have CCTV cameras set up to record any lawless activity by Soros thugs.
Come January 21st we become a nation of laws again. Maybe this guy was making discouraging words about doing his job.


39 posted on 01/13/2017 8:51:28 PM PST by tumblindice (America's founding fathers, all armed conservatives)
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To: Steve_Seattle
https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor James O'Keefe ‏@JamesOKeefeIII 9h9 hours ago What @Project_Veritas found was so egregious, we notified counter terrorism LEOs. Release planned for MONDAY! #tcot O'Keefe's Project Veritas has video of rioters planning to riot badly, it was something of a sting operation, I believe. His sites and twitter feed are useful to check periodically. He is a brave and intelligent man.
40 posted on 01/13/2017 8:51:52 PM PST by little jeremiah (Half the truth is often a great lie. B. Franklin)
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