Duval County

Gov. Ron DeSantis activates Florida National Guard in response to reports of potential civil unrest

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis has activated the Florida National Guard in response to reports of potential civil unrest.

Meanwhile, the FBI field office in Jacksonville continues searching for those in northeast Florida who were at the capitol.

We spoke with the Jacksonville sheriff earlier this week, who told us nothing is being shut down in preparation for next week’s inauguration.

Both the FBI and the sheriff’s office are sifting through tips about threats, mainly coming through social media.

Our law and safety expert Dale Carson says, “Typically we find people of a certain feather flock together, so it’s fairly easy to identify who these people are and track them.”

Carson says social media and videos have made that relatively easy. He says the goal is to get to the root of the organization.

“And once that’s done, then you see it happening. They’re making arrests of these individuals which will begin to quiet the situation substantially, I think.”

On Friday, the Jacksonville FBI arrested a Tallahassee man named Daniel Baker for inciting violence at the Florida Capitol building.

According to the FBI, “He 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.”

Following the arrest, U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe said, “If you represent a threat to public safety, we will come for you, we will find you, and we will prosecute you.”