Florida National Guard Troops Sent To Washington, D.C. Area

ORLANDO, FL — Hundreds of Florida National Guardsmen have been sent to the Washington, D.C. area to protect the nation's capital from possible unrest over the death of George Floyd, who can be seen on video struggling to breathe and pleading for help as a Minnesota police officer pressed his knee deep into Floyd's neck.

"At the request of the secretary of defense, I’ve authorized 500 National Guardsmen to deploy to the national capital region," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday. "Most of them will be arriving in the region today."

DeSantis said he granted the request based on years of previous assistance from the federal government to Florida's 20 million residents.

"The federal government has helped out Florida in a number of different ways since I’ve been governor, and obviously before, so when they had a request, I felt it was important to step up and to help out with that," DeSantis told reporters.

The governor said he was also standing by to send Florida National Guard troops to areas of Florida if needed and he pointed to a number of incidents around the state in the aftermath of Floyd's death.

He said 90 arrests had been made in the Tampa area, 28 in the Orlando area in addition to arrests in the Fort Myers and Miami areas.

"In Tampa, one person was arrested attempting to sell Molotov cock·tails from his vehicle. Another was found with a backpack full or mortars," DeSantis said.

He said a Tampa police officer suffered minor injuries. He also said rocks were thrown at a Tampa police cruiser and at the St. Pete police headquarters.

In Orlando, a police officer suffered minor injuries after being hit with a rock, according to the

"A man was arrested for trying to stab officers with an exposed syringe," DeSantis said. "There was vandalism at a bank and an attempt to break into an ATM."

In Miami, the governor said one person was arrested for attempting to incite a riot.

"In fort Walton, Santa Rosa County, a person lit a small fire under a police vehicle and was arrested," the governor said.

In Miami, 17 police vehicles were damaged, including several that were burned. A Miami police officer also suffered a broken hand when she was pelted with a rock.

"Florida won’t tolerate rioting, looting or violence," DeSantis insisted.

The governor also thanked peaceful demonstrators who exercised their First Amendment right to assemble.

"Some of whom have helped to stymie attempts of some protesters seeking to engage in violent activity," the governor added. "We really appreciate their commitment to nonviolence."

One such case involved 12th grade social studies teacher Benjamin Torrens and Richard Dombroff, who were recognized for their bravery in preventing the looting of a CVS in downtown Miami on Sunday night.

"I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared when I realized that looting was possibly about to happen," the 29-year-old Torrens said after being recognized by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Police Director Freddy Ramirez on Monday. "An old saying goes that bravery is not the absence of fear. It’s doing something despite it.