US President Donald Trump tweeted that he has ordered for the National Guard to withdraw from Washington D.C.
“THEY CAN QUICKLY RETURN”
“They will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed. Far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!” Trump tweeted.
Trump did not specify in the tweet whether he meant all National Guard forces should be withdrawn or if he was just referring to out-of-state troops ordered to leave. The presence of those out-of-state forces had been a point of contention between Washington officials and the administration.
Earlier, Trump had told his advisors at one point this past week he wanted 10,000 troops to deploy to the Washington D.C. area to halt civil unrest over the killing of a black man by Minneapolis police, according to a senior U.S. official.