SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Gov. J.B. Pritzker is sending about 500 Illinois National Guard members to Washington D.C. until mid-March for a “security mission.”

In a statement Thursday, Pritzker said the Defense Department asked for Illinois guard troops to assist federal and local agencies to secure the capital.

The state’s National Guard soldiers will be in Washington, D.C., by the start of next week along with a small group of Illinois Air and National Guard airmen.

The deployment of national guard troops to Washington follows the Jan. 6 violent siege of the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump that left five dead and others injured.