About 900 active-duty troops in the D.C. region have received orders to return to bases in New York and North Carolina, according to a press call with Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy.

The troops were originally brought to the National Capital Region on Monday, as part of a major ramp-up in military and law enforcement presence as daily protests over the killing of George Floyd and racial injustice towards black people swelled.

After some vandalism followed the first three days of protest a week ago—and the use of chemical agents, flash-bangs, smoke, and rubber bullets by law enforcement on Monday to move protesters out of Lafayette Square to clear the way for a presidential photo op—thousands have demonstrated peacefully for several days. Last night, the Metropolitan Police Department did not make a single arrest, and there is no curfew tonight.

“We’ve had four peaceful days in a row projecting a fifth,” McCarthy said on the call. “We’re in a very good posture because we’ve been able to generate enough personnel from the National Guard standpoint.”

The active-duty troops were never deployed in D.C., and neither was the “Old Guard” infantry regiment permanently stationed at Fort Meyer, in Arlington (the Old Guard remain on alert, though McCarthy said he hopes to remove that status this weekend). But National Guardsmen from D.C. and 11 other states have been part of the long list of federal agencies currently on D.C. streets.

The heavy federal law enforcement presence has been roundly criticized by local officials and protesters alike. In recent days, protesters have called out the heightened police and military presence in response to peaceful protests, chanting “Why are you in riot gear? There’s no fucking riot here!”

On Friday morning, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ended D.C.’s state of emergency related to the demonstrations, and sent a formal letter to President Donald Trump, requesting that the president “withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence” from the city.

“The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and for reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans,” Bowser’s letter reads.

The Army’s move to send active-duty troops away comes after significant confusion on Thursday over whether active-duty troops would stay or go. The Pentagon had ordered them home on Thursday, but Defense Secretary Mark Esper reversed the decision after attending a meeting at the White House, according to the Associated Press.

President Trump has celebrated the ramped-up military and law enforcement presence in the region in response to protests, which he has characterized as acts of domestic terrorism. Meanwhile, Pentagon officials, including Esper, have expressed reticence to deploy active-duty military troops for law enforcement purposes in D.C. or other cities.

The active-duty troops were originally brought to the D.C. region because officials did not think they had enough law enforcement deployed during the protests on Sunday, McCarthy said, pointing to graffiti on the Lincoln Memorial and the fire in the basement of St. John’s Episcopal Church.

“We just did not have enough people here,” he said.

Active-duty troops are barred from assisting with domestic law enforcement matters, with a few exceptions. One of them is the Insurrection Act, which allows the President of the United States to deploy the military within the country, in extreme cases.

In the press call, McCarthy also said the National Guard was no longer carrying firearms or ammunition in D.C. during the protests. On Monday, a handful had carried guns but did not have magazines connected to their weapons. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Guardsmen did not bring magazines, in an attempt to “de-escalate,” according to McCarthy.

“It was clear that there were enough federal law enforcement that had descended on the city, and that would be their primary responsibility,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy also addressed concerns over an incident on Monday night, where a helicopter hovered low over protesters, creating winds strong enough to snap tree branches. In her letter to President Trump, Bowser called it “a war-like tactic to frighten and disperse peaceful protesters.” The D.C. National Guard is investigating the incident.

McCarthy would not respond to specific questions about whether the show of force was ordered by President Trump, as has been reported by the Associated Press. McCarthy said he had received no instructions on the matter, and that it would be unusual for a president to order such a thing.

Meanwhile, the National Guard will still be out on the streets in D.C. Bowser has written letters directly to state governors in New Jersey and Ohio, requesting that they order their states’ Guardsmen to leave the District.

The out-of-state National Guards are “forces that were brought to the District of Columbia without my knowledge and not at my request,” Bowser wrote.

Maryland State Senator Paul Pinsky sent a letter to Governor Larry Hogan, requesting the withdrawal of Maryland National Guard forces. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam refused to send Virginia National Guard to D.C. when asked by the president.

Tonight’s demonstrations in D.C. are again expected to be peaceful.

This story was updated to include news that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has requested state governors remove National Guard troops from the District, and that Maryland State Senator Paul Pinsky has requested that Gov. Hogan withdraw the Maryland National Guard.