Statehouse News Bureau

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Ohio National Guard Members In D.C. Beginning To Return Home

By Jo Ingles

Published January 22, 2021 at 7:42 PM EST

Ohio National Guard members patrol Columbus during demonstrations in summer 2020. [Jo Ingles] — Ohio National Guard members patrol Columbus during demonstrations in summer 2020.

Pictures of National Guard members sleeping on the floor in parking garages in Washington, D.C., have been flooding the internet lately. But those people in the photos are not members of Ohio’s National Guard.

Soldiers and airmen deployed to Washington have been staying in hotels and were not among those forced to leave the U.S. Capitol building and sleep in a parking garage, Stephanie Beougher with the Ohio National Guard said in a written statement.

About 1,000 Ohio National Guard members were sent to the Capitol in the days leading up to President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Beougher said the guardsmen are beginning to return home after protecting critical infrastructure that provided a safe environment for those who wanted to peacefully protest.