Florida officials will be prepared to counter any unrest in the state ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday, Politico reported.
DeSantis, a Republican who is a key ally of President Donald Trump, has not criticized the president for inciting last week's riots at the U.S. Capitol.
He acknowledged, however, the FBI has warned about additional possible protests and violence at state capitals leading up to the Jan. 20 inauguration, but said he was unaware about anything "specific" targeting Tallahassee.
Several of those arrested in recent days for the riot at the Capitol were from Florida.
"If anything is disorderly, we are going to act very quickly," DeSantis said. "I don't care why you are doing it. You are not doing it here. If there's any type of disorder we will have the reinforcements there."
Florida's Capitol has remained closed for the most part since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, although legislators are holding committee meetings this week. State Senate President Wilton Simpson sent a note to lawmakers instructing all Senate staff to work remotely Sunday.
Commenting on the siege at the Capitol last week, DeSantis said, according to Click Orlando:
"It was a very difficult situation. To be able to steer a huge mob of people away from doing a lot of other people harm – so good on them."
However, when asked whether Trump should be held accountable for what happened, the governor did not respond.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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