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Governor DeSantis orders National Guard troops in D.C. to return to Florida

Biden Inauguration National Guard
Posted at 5:55 PM, Jan 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-22 17:55:24-05

Governor DeSantis ordered Thursday night that all Florida National Guard troops currently in Washington D.C. come back home.

As many as 15,000 National Guard members are preparing to leave Washington, D.C., and head home now that the inauguration of President Joe Biden is over.

Enforcement agencies say the inaugural went off with only a handful of minor arrests and incidents.

The National Guard Bureau said Thursday that of the nearly 26,000 Guard troops deployed to D.C. for the inaugural, just 10,600 remained on duty. The bureau says the Guard is helping states with coordination and the logistics so troops can get home.

Guard forces were scattered around the D.C., helping to secure the Capitol, monuments, Metro entrances and the perimeter of central D.C., which was largely locked down.

DeSantis said they are soldiers and not "Nancy Pelosi's servants."