AUGUSTA — About 75 members of the Maine National Guard are headed to Washington, D.C., this week as most of the original 200 soldiers who were deployed are returning home, officials said.

They’ll be joining about a dozen soldiers from the original group who volunteered to remain on duty in the nation’s capital.

“The request came in from the National Guard Bureau and we wanted to continue to support while also taking our members personal and professional lives into account,” said Maj. Gen. Douglas Farnham, Maine’s adjutant general.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills originally allowed up to 200 soldiers to go to Washington after an angry mob broke into the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were preparing to certify presidential electoral votes.

All told, about 7,000 total National Guard soldiers will remain on duty in Washington supporting federal agencies through the end of the month. By March, that number will be about 5,000.