Director of the Army Staff, United States Army, Washington, DC
Apr 17
May 19
Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division (Light) and Fort Drum, Fort Drum, New York and Operation Inherent Resolve, Iraq
Sep 16
Apr 17
Director of Operations/Director, Rapid Equipment Fielding, Army Rapid Capabilities Office, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology), Washington, DC
Mar 15
Jul 16
Director, Operations, Readiness and Mobilization, G-3/5/7, United States Army, Washington, DC
Jul 14
Mar 15
Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Europe, Germany
Jun 13
Jul 14
Commanding General, Joint Multinational Training Command, United States Army Europe, Germany
Jun 12
Jun 13
Deputy Commanding General (Support), 10th Mountain Division (Light), Fort Drum, New York
Prior to January 6, 2021, Pentagon officials repeatedly asked city and federal officials if they needed assistance from the D.C. National Guard, but only the Mayor of Washington, D.C. requested assistance from 340 unarmed service members.[6][7] At approximately 2:20 p.m. on January 6, LTG Piatt joined a phone call with Washington, D.C. leaders, Capitol Police leaders, the D.C. National Guard, and others as the riot at the Capitol was unfolding.[8]The Hill reported that Piatt said on the call that Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy was meeting with Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller to seek approval of the request for assistance. He also explained that he was not the decision maker and that no one was denying the request for assistance.[9]The New York Times reported that during Congressional testimony on February 23, 2021, former Capitol security leaders provided conflicting accounts of the request for the National Guard, reflecting the confusion of the event and the complexity of requesting Guard assistance.[10]
On January 6, 2021, during the storming of the United States Capitol and an hour and a half after the west side defensive perimeter had been breached,[11] according to Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund and DC National Guard leader Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, Piatt critically delayed or ignored Sund's request for National Guard support, stating, "I don't like the visual of the National Guard standing a police line with the Capitol in the background," despite this being a stark contrast to the protests of the previous year.[12][13] According to the Washington Post, "Piatt initially denied Sund's allegations in a statement but acknowledged in a call with reporters about two weeks later that he had conferred with others who were present that it was possible he made comments to that effect."[14]
On March 8, 2021, retired Army Lt. Gen Russel Honoré, whom House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tasked with leading the security review, identified that the U.S. Capitol Police are too "understaffed, insufficiently equipped, and inadequately trained" — and woefully lacking in intelligence capabilities.
On June 15, 2021, Piatt told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that Army officials "all immediately understood the gravity of the situation" after receiving a request in a conference call for "urgent and immediate support" at the Capitol, but that they still needed to develop a plan.[15] Piatt acknowledged that "those on the line were convinced that I was denying their request, despite [me] clearly stating three times that, 'We are not denying your requests. We need to prepare a plan for when the secretary of the Army gains approval….’"[14]
On November 16, 2021, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General released their findings on the actions that took place to prepare for and respond to protests at the U.S. Capitol.[16] The report concluded that the actions the DoD took before January 6, 2021, to prepare for the planned protests in Washington, D.C., on January 5 and 6, 2021, were appropriate.[17]
In early December 2021, Colonel Earl G. Matthews, a Trump appointee, released a rebuttal to the DoDIG report that accused LTG Piatt of making willful distortions of the events of January 6, describing Piatt and General Charles A. Flynn as "absolute and unmitigated liars" and of giving "perjured testimony before Congress."[18]