Gov. DeSantis Orders FL National Guard to Return Home: 'They're Not Nancy Pelosi's Servants'
For two weeks after the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, many lawmakers insisted on the need for mass numbers of National Guard troops for protection during President Joe Biden’s inauguration and surrounding events.
After pictures emerged of those troops resting inside a parking garage, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has ordered the troops from his state to return home.
“They’re soldiers,” DeSantis said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Friday. “They’re not Nancy Pelosi’s servants.”
It was an honor to witness Henry Sayler receive his first dose of the vaccine today. Florida is rapidly approaching a monumental milestone of 1 million seniors vaccinated. #SeniorsFirst pic.twitter.com/JoL6N1ybOH
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 22, 2021
Politico reported that the guardsmen were told by U.S. Capitol Police officials to leave the Capitol Thursday, subjecting them to undesirable conditions.
“The group was forced to rest in a nearby parking garage without internet reception, with just one electrical outlet, and one bathroom with two stalls for 5,000 troops,” a guardsman told Politico.
DeSantis said the troops can be used for actual emergencies, such as vaccine distribution in the state of Florida. He said that they are not being utilized effectively in Washington, D.C.
“This is a half-cocked mission at this point, and I think the appropriate thing is to bring them home,” DeSantis said.
BREAKING: Governor DeSantis orders Florida National Guard home. ‘This is a half-cocked mission and they are not Nancy Pelosi’s servants’
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) January 22, 2021
In addition, the governor took aim at lawmakers who tried to subject the troops to tests of their patriotism.
“This comes on the back end of them trying to investigate the backgrounds of our guardsmen,” he said.
“Florida, we did not let them go into their political beliefs. I thought that was totally inappropriate. I thought it was very disrespectful for people who are clearly patriots.”
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Sunday that the FBI was vetting the 25,000 troops who would arrive in Washington, D.C., due to concerns of “an insider attack.”
In reality, this was a no-lose situation for Democratic lawmakers. They called in tens of thousands of troops to quash a threat of violence that was probably never going to materialize.
The Speaker of the House thanks the men and women of the National Guard for protecting the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/QwZlpeAWPp
— Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) January 13, 2021
Of course, they can now claim that the reason the violence did not happen was because of their actions. This is unlikely, but it cannot be disproven.
Now that the public has seen what some of the troops were doing (or not doing), Tucker Carlson’s accusation that Democratic lawmakers called in mass numbers of troops “to send the rest of us a message about power” seems to have more credibility.
Democrats wanted to paint a picture of possible riots, protests, and other violent threats on Inauguration Day. Instead, Joe Biden was sworn in rather quietly.
“There were a few scattered arrests but no major protests or serious disruptions in the city during Biden’s inauguration ceremony,” The Associated Press reported.
Maybe these violent groups were planning to show up, but the 25,000 troops scared them away.
More likely, however, is the possibility that the huge number of troops was never necessary.
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