‘Maybe someone will come tomorrow’: Gov. DeSantis notes lack of protesters at Florida Capitol

Ron DeSantis.

Despite heightened security measures, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he has yet to see intelligence suggesting “anything special” plotted against the Florida Capitol Complex.

What’s more, he has yet to notice any protesters.

“I don’t think anyone showed up at the state Capitol all week,” DeSantis told reporters in Cape Coral. “Maybe someone will come tomorrow.”

National Guardsmen and law enforcement officers filled the Florida Capitol over the weekend after the FBI warned of a possibility for armed protests at all 50 state capitol buildings sometime this week.

Notably, tensions in Florida grew more acute Saturday when federal authorities arrested an Army veteran who plotted to confront Capitol protesters with a firearm.

The arrested Army veteran and Tallahassee resident, Daniel Baker, encouraged others to join his violent plot via his social media accounts.

Yet despite the FBI warning and a subsequent arrest, DeSantis noted that the Florida Capitol has remained free of protests and without incident.

“People thought Saturday was going to be this big thing,” DeSantis said. “I had all these people running around Tallahassee trying to do all this and nothing’s materialized so far.”

While it is unclear what direct threats — if any — the Florida Capitol Complex may face, Senate President Wilton Simpson has encouraged staffers to work remotely until Thursday.

In a memo sent Tuesday, Simpson said he is unaware of “planned acts of violence” at the Capitol, though law enforcement is anticipating demonstrations on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Similarly, local law enforcement decided to temporarily close the Leon County Courthouse and Tallahassee City Hall on Tuesday and Wednesday out of “an abundance of caution.”

Both buildings are within a block of the Capitol Complex.

The Florida National Guard activation, meanwhile, is dated through Sunday or until the security missions are complete.

“I’ve put some guard available in case something happens,” DeSantis said. “But I can tell you as of now, we’ve not really seen any indication of anything special.”