'Tens of thousands of rifle and pistol rounds were stored in the DC Armory for the military to use on Americans': report

In a building, east of the U.S. Capitol sits the Washington, D.C. Armory. While some use it for an arena, auditorium, sports venue or event space, but it also is the home of the Washington, D.C. National Guard.

While D.C. is not a state, it still has a D.C. National Guard unit, which Americans met last week when they were dispatched by the White House to attack peaceful protesters at the siege on Lafayette Square outside the White House. Stored in the Armory for use by the Guard is a vault of weapons ready for them to be used on American protesters, reported the New York Times.

"Tens of thousands of rifle and pistol rounds were stored in the D.C. Armory and partitioned in pallets, labeled by their state of origin, to be used on American citizens in case of emergency," the Times reported.

It is a piece of news that some have found shocking.

D.C. isn't the only place in the U.S. stockpiling weapons and ammunition, all National Guard units do it. Sometimes weapon accumulation is about training. For example, a 2014 Government Accounting Office report cited 2,000 to 5,000 rounds being used per soldier each year during training and certification programs. "Experienced officers use about 600 rounds a year," said the report.

It's the "ready for them to be used on American protesters," that sent readers to question.

"Other states, like California, were dealing with demonstrations of their own and were reluctant to part with any forces," said the Times. "Some Guard commanders, recalling the lessons of the Vietnam War and the Guard shootings that killed four Kent State students in 1970, were deeply concerned about committing their troops to a vaguely defined urban mission that could put their forces in direct contact with American citizens protesting racial injustice."

At the Kent State University massacre in 1970, it was the Ohio National Guard that fired on the Vietnam War protesters.

While the information about the D.C. weapons stockpile may seem startling to some, they're one of the "state" Guard units that have one. There are more than 50 others. While the Guard may be most known for handing out natural disaster aid and helping those in need, they're also there to open-fire on Americans if ordered to.