Florida National Guard deploys to DC to protect Capitol on inauguration day
Published: January 15, 2021 6:41 PM EST
Updated: January 16, 2021 7:00 AM EST
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The buses rolled Friday morning from Florida to Washington D.C. But this time, instead of protestors, it is soldiers and airmen from the Florida National Guard on their way to provide security. We spoke to one of the company commanders on the way.
Six hundred men and women of the National Guard packed up over the last couple of days and are heading off to make some history.
“We have been mobilized to move up to the Capitol to Washington D.C. in preparation of the inauguration,” Captain Alexander Emrich, Florida National Guard.
Gov. DeSantis activates National Guard in response to national protests
Darren McCollester/Getty Images
CAMBRIDGE, MA - JULY 8: Soldiers with C Company, First Battalion of the 181st Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard stand at attention during a deployment ceremony on Cambridge Common July 8, 2007 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
Posted at 7:48 PM, Jan 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-15 19:49:41-05
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) â Ahead of potentially violent protests at the state capitol complex next week, Governor Ron DeSantis has activated the Florida National Guard.
Updated: 16 Jan 2021, 5:52
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AT LEAST 10 states are deploying National Guard troops and several are closing their Capitols amid the FBI’s warnings of armed protests around President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Among states that are activating Guardsmen leading up to Inauguration Day are California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, according to a New York Times survey on Friday.
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North Carolina is among the states that activated the National GuardCredit: Alamy
Meanwhile, states that plan to shut down their Capitol grounds before Wednesday include Kentucky, Texas and Virginia.
New Mexico and other states with legislatures meeting over the coming days have erected fencing around their Capitols.
Capitol Complex in Tallahassee
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida has announced the arrest of a Tallahassee man for threating violence against protestors who come to the state capitol Sunday.
Daniel Alan Baker’s plan to confront people comes the same day as the FBI has warned of protests planned for all 50 state capitols from supporters of President Donald Trump. The protests come a week after protestors staged an violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol amid false claims that the presidential election was stolen.
The 33-year-old Baker is being charged with making threats to kidnap or injure protestors. The criminal complaint says he used social media to try to get others to join him.
Judge bars former Tallahassee city ethics officer from internet-connected devices after her arrest for cyberstalking.
A Tallahassee city ethics officer was arrested and charged with cyberstalking her coworker and former lover, and is now banned by a judge from using the internet for anything besides work, paying bills and her legal defense.
Julie Meadows-Keef is accused of cyberstalking Bert Fletcher, the
Tallahassee Democrat newspaper reported. Both worked in Tallahassee city government. She was hired in 2014 as the first city government ethics officer, while he worked in an adjacent office as the city auditor. They soon started a romantic relationship, according to the report.