DeSantis calls up National Guard in advance of possible protests

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis called up the National Guard on Friday night in advance of what officials fear could become violent pro-President Trump rallies on Sunday and next week at the Florida Capitol.

The order took effect immediately and lasts until Jan. 24, “or such time as the assistance to State and local government authorities is complete.”

Hours earlier, Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey urged DeSantis to activate the National Guard, saying at a news conference the state needed to “ensure we do not see a repeat of Jan. 6 right here in Tallahassee.”

State and local law enforcement

agencies in Tallahassee have been bracing for potential protests at the Florida Capitol after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

The heightened vigilance is in response to an internal FBI bulletin warning that armed protests in the days leading up to Biden’s inauguration are being organized by Trump supporters in state capitals across the country. Protests are also being planned in the U.S. Capitol, the bulletin said.

The order said the Guard was being called up “in response to reports of potential civil unrest.”

Guard members will be activated as needed to assist the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and local authorities “for security missions and assignments necessary to maintain peace.”

Dailey’s plea came after the FBI arrested a man Friday in connection with a potential pro-Trump rally in Tallahassee on Sunday. But the Army veteran in custody is accused not of planning a riot but plotting to attack anyone who protests at the Capitol building.

“With the clearly expressed threat being state capitals, and with the news today that a Tallahassee man has been arrested by federal law enforcement for issuing a ‘call to arms for like-minded individuals to violently confront protesters gathered at the Florida Capitol on Sunday,’ I believe that more resources are necessary,” Dailey said.

“I am hopeful that we don’t experience any violence in the capital city this weekend or next week, but hope is not a plan, and so we must remain vigilant and be prepared,” he said.

DeSantis said earlier this week that the state would be ready with “reinforcements” if any protests at the Florida Capitol turn violent.

“If anything is disorderly, we are going to act very quickly. Don’t worry about that,” he said at a news conference in The Villages on Tuesday. “If there’s any type of disorder, we will have the reinforcements there.”

With the nation’s capital in a heightened state of alert and filled with National Guard troops after the assault by a mob last week, state capitals are rapidly becoming an alternative for protesters.

A poster announcing a Tallahassee rally on Sunday is making the rounds on social media, but with “Stand down, do not attend” superimposed over it.

The original poster appears to announce an “armed protest” at Capitol Hill and all state capitals, with “come armed at your personal discretion” in small print. The provenance of the poster is not clear.

Planning for the event has been made more difficult by recent bans by Twitter, Facebook and other social media accounts of groups potentially inciting violence or promoting conspiracy theories such as QAnon.

The suspect charged Friday by the FBI, Daniel Alan Baker of Tallahassee “specifically called for others to join him in encircling any protestors and confining them at the Capitol complex using firearms,” according to an FBI arrest report.

Baker, 33, is a former U.S. Army Airborne infantryman who was kicked out of the service. He “has a history of expressing his belief in violent tactics,” the FBI said.

“In recent days his social media posts had escalated significantly,” the FBI said. Baker, who participated in multiple protests in the U.S. in 2020, “specifically expressed an intent to violently disrupt protests occurring between now and Inauguration Day next Wednesday, January 20, and was actively recruiting others to join him.”

In an image posted on Thursday, Baker allegedly wrote, “This is an armed coup and can only be stopped by an armed community. If you’re afraid to die fighting the enemy, stay inside and live.”

Lawrence Keefe, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, said in a statement, “Extremists intent on violence from either end of the political and social spectrums must be stopped, and they will be stopped ... We will not stop in our efforts to detect, deter, and disrupt anyone else planning to incite or commit violence.”

The city of Tallahassee also announced that its Martin Luther King Day parade, originally set for Monday, has been postponed to February “out of an abundance of caution related to possible protests.”

In Orlando, Randy Ross, the former chair for the 2016 Trump campaign in Orange County, repeated his earlier plea for Trump supporters to stay away from any protests.

“A violent, aggressive approach means a risk of your own lives and law enforcement,” Ross said. “Peaceful protest doesn’t involve guns, wands, tasers, etc. Stay home and use your keyboards.”

The right-wing social media site Parler has been removed from Amazon’s servers due to “content that threatens the public safety, such as by inciting and planning the rape, torture, and assassination of named public officials and private citizens,” Amazon said in response to a lawsuit from Parler.

Ross said he was sending out an email to 32,000 Trump supporters in Orange County and appearing on TV to get the message out to avoid any protests.

“My message to our MAGA volunteers/supporters is to stay home,” Ross said. “Suggesting radicals stand down and go away should be something we all agree on. Nothing good will come from violence.”