at least the DC government is more than taking it seriously.

D.C. government has no authority over the D.C. National Guard units.

15K seem like low numbers. Well, depends on the weapon technologies they bring I guess. Aerial support should be required.

The 28th Infantry Division out of Pennsylvania may be a good idea of what to look for. It is ~15K personnel and is commanded by Maj. Gen. Andrew P. Schafer, Jr.

Nicknames for the 28th include: Keystone (Special Designation), Fire and Movement, Iron Division, and Bloody Bucket.

It includes the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Iron Brigade (PA NG)), the 55th Heavy Brigade Combat Team (PA NG), the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (Independence Brigade (PA NG)) and the Combat Aviation Brigade (28th Infantry Division (Heavy) (PA NG)). The sub-breakdowns of each brigade can be found in the links below, as well as what the mechanized elements each brigade consist of. I'll be honest, it's a lot of very good equipment in what seems to be capable hands.

In modern US military usage, Combat Teams are the atomic unit of independent operations in a theatre. The 28th, as an example has four such units.

Though I do not know what the exact make-up of the Troops are to be in DC, I would not want to be on the wrong side of the barrels of a few Strykers armed with rifles or IEDs. Such encounters have gone the way of the US in the last few attempts. A division's worth of armed and well-trained personnel is a formidable obstacle for any modern military, let alone a group of insurrectionists and seditionists.

All that said, Dear God. That we are talking about such things at all shows the depravity of the moment. Such a moment has occurred before on the Mall with the Bonus Army, but it was a horrible thing then and it remains so now. The thought of US Troops again being used on our fellow citizens is horrific and yet may unfortunately be history soon enough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_(military)#United_Sta...

https://military.wikia.org/wiki/28th_Infantry_Division_(Unit...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army

Biggest difference now is that the "commander in chief" is behind all this, so the army won't interfere.

This whole thing is getting out of hand.

Are they still our fellow citizens when they have already shown themselves to be traitors? Citizens in name only.

Most of the people who show up to these things don't have the appetite for armed resistance.

I find myself wondering what happens if they find that appetite. Do I stay away and let others fight them? These mobs could vastly outnumber the defenders, and might pose a real threat to our country.

Would I personally have the conviction to kill someone who is trying to violently take control of the government?

I never thought I'd be asking myself this question, but here I am.

They sure do like to tell everyone that it's what they're "preparing for" though.

I remember a Canadian author a few years back (can't remember the name, sorry!) went to a Prepper-Con in the US. He wrote about a lot the classes on survival skills, the ubiquitous barrels of dehydrated corn, and the massive gun fetish. The best part, though, was the end. I'm paraphrasing, but he said that the thing all the other attendees needed wasn't a new hatchet or picatinny rail, rather negative 30 pounds and mile times under 15 minutes.

While I don't sympathise with their point of view you should be careful not to conflate the few loud/visible ones with the majority going there. Some might want civil war, others go for their friends want to take a stance or hope that this will somehow lead to a peaceful handover of power to 'their winner'.

Keep in mind that this is just the Guard. DC's police department (MPD) may be getting mutual aid support from close-in states or states not so close. I just haven't been paying attention to know the details.

They'll likely have those high frequency crowd dispersion thingies on trucks.