Two days after the inauguration went off without a hitch despite Democrats’ predictions of right-wing violence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’s ordering members of the Florida National Guard currently stationed at the U.S. Capitol to head back home, saying the troops are “not Nancy Pelosi’s servants.”
“This is a half-cocked mission at this point and I think the appropriate thing is to bring them home,” DeSantis said Friday morning, after reportedly ordering the troops back to the Sunshine State Thursday night.
DeSantis' call to come home came after photos went viral Thursday afternoon showing throngs of National Guardsmen crammed into an unheated parking garage under the Capitol building after reportedly being told they could no longer take their breaks in the halls and common spaces of the Capitol building due to Congress being back in session and an increase in foot traffic. Photos and video clips showed hundreds of troops crammed together on the concrete floor of the parking garage, while others revealed the few overflowing porta-potties the guardsmen were reportedly being forced to use, sparking outrage online from both the left and the right.
“Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service. Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage ...” one Guardsman said https://t.co/2QneUNtBDe pic.twitter.com/Q8lZzP7hHV
— POLITICO (@politico) January 22, 2021
The order to relocate the troops was reportedly rescinded Thursday night following the backlash, and guardsmen were once again allowed to rest in the Capitol itself.