National Guard Deploys in Washington, D.C.

This Tuesday marked the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., just one day after President Trump issued an executive order to tackle rising crime concerns in the capital.

The US military announced this on social media, sharing images of military humvees stationed near the Washington Monument at the National Mall.

Under the president’s decision, security personnel have been reactivated through Title 32 permissions. Interestingly, images also surfaced showing the troops mingling with tourists on the first night of their mission.

While the White House had earlier suggested that the National Guard would begin operations that evening, only a fraction of the expected 800 troops had been mobilized by Tuesday afternoon, according to Department of Defense officials. More deployments are anticipated over the coming days.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, expressed uncertainty about the specific areas the National Guard would patrol but anticipated that their presence would mainly be on federal property, like the National Mall.

In a discussion with community leaders, he stated, “I expect them to be focused on federal sites, which could include parks, monuments, and other federal buildings.” He shared this via a social media post later that evening.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegses clarified that the National Guard wouldn’t perform law enforcement roles within the district, but did mention that troops could “temporarily detain” individuals if they witnessed a crime happening and were not accompanied by police officers.

In an effort to enhance security, Trump had converted the 3,400 personnel of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to federal status, also mobilizing 850 federal agents to patrol the city as part of the campaign to address crime in the area.