‘On edge’: Trump’s military deployment in US capital sparks fear, confusion

Washington, DC, United States – Outside Union Station successful the US capital, bored-looking soldiers linger adjacent 2 ample armoured vehicles arsenic commuters and tourists drawback photos of the antithetic scene.

Inside the century-old proscription hub, a twelve National Guard soldiers gait the marble floors, appearing to beryllium equipped lone with zip-tie handcuffs.

Their beingness did not straight disrupt traffic, but the Trump administration’s deployment of national forces – portion of its takeover of metropolis policing – has near Washington residents fearful and confused.

Randy Kindle, a 48-year-old Air Force veteran, called the deployment a “show”.

“It’s disrespectful to our troops to person to invade their ain state fundamentally and beryllium pitted against their ain citizens,” Kindle told Al Jazeera extracurricular Union Station.

He said helium witnessed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid successful neighbouring Maryland during which the migration agents had their ain movie crew.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security released a video of golden-branded ICE trucks with President Donald Trump’s sanction connected the backmost featuring a rap opus that says: “My bosom truthful acold I deliberation I’m done with ice.”

“This is simply a world amusement for them,” Kindle said. “It’s a f****** idiocracy.”

Throughout Washington connected Thursday, soldiers were seen going up and down the escalators astatine metro stations, chatting among themselves and loitering connected thoroughfare corners.

“From what I’ve seen and heard, galore of the troops are lasting around, galore of them retired successful the elements, not supported with due instrumentality oregon vehicles – frankly looking bored,” Washington Council subordinate Zachary Parker told Al Jazeera.

“This is simply a manufactured situation made up by the Trump medication for their ain governmental gain,” Parker said.

Trump said the federalisation of Washington’s policing was indispensable and aimed to combat what helium described arsenic rampant crime successful the city.

But authoritative information amusement that transgression has seen a crisp diminution successful the US superior implicit the past fewer years, hitting a 30-year low successful 2024, according to the US Department of Justice.

Parker warned that Trump’s determination successful Washington should not beryllium taken lightly by the remainder of the country.

He said that, astatine best, the Washington takeover whitethorn beryllium an effort to marque Trump look pugnacious connected transgression and distract from issues the US president is facing.

“A darker presumption of this infinitesimal is that this is a precursor of militarising American cities and streets and confronting American citizens with subject might,” the assembly subordinate told Al Jazeera.

“I deliberation we ought to instrumentality this infinitesimal precise earnestly – some those of america present successful DC, but Americans writ large.”

Trump praises the crackdown

Since the national takeover began past week, the Trump medication has centred the contented successful its nationalist messaging.

For example, arsenic of Friday morning, 7 of the past 10 posts connected X by Attorney General Pam Bondi were astir Washington, DC.

Bondi has been sharing regular updates astir arrests made successful the metropolis – a full of 719, including 40 connected Thursday. Washington constabulary arrested an mean of 56 radical regular past year, according to metropolis data.

The Justice Department, which did not respond to Al Jazeera’s petition for comment, has not specified whether the arrests were made wholly by national agents oregon whether they see instrumentality enforcement enactment by Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department.

But ABC 7 News cited national officials arsenic saying the numbers included arrests by each agencies successful the city.

President Donald Trump speaks with members of instrumentality enforcement and National Guard soldiers, Thursday, August 21, 2025, successful Washington. [Jacquelyn Martin/AP]

It’s besides not wide whether the detention of undocumented immigrants is included successful the tally. Arrests made by ICE were lone distinguished successful Bondi’s regular announcements connected Thursday and Friday.

But Trump and his aides are talking up the arrests arsenic a sizeable feat.

On Thursday evening, Trump rode astir Washington with instrumentality enforcement officers successful a amusement of power and defiance against critics of the crackdown.

“We’ve had immoderate unthinkable results. … It’s similar a antithetic place. It’s similar a antithetic city. It’s the capital. It’s going to beryllium the champion successful the world,” the US president told soldiers and instrumentality enforcement officers.

Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth besides visited Union Station connected Wednesday, wherever they made a nationalist showing of ordering burgers astatine a accelerated nutrient edifice arsenic protesters chanted against them.

Trump first suggested federalising instrumentality enforcement successful Washington aft an worker of his cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency was assaulted during a carjacking aboriginal this month.

An armoured conveyance parked extracurricular Union Station successful Washington, DC, connected August 21, 2025 [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera]

Why Washington?

Since helium entered authorities successful 2015, Trump has described large cities, which are astir each tally by Democrats, arsenic infested by crime, drugs and homelessness.

That cognition echoed immoderate agrarian blimpish attitudes towards wide cities.

Trump has agelong threatened to nonstop the subject to cities helium views arsenic dangerous, but the US Constitution gives the powerfulness of policing to the states, not the national government.

Washington, DC, however, is not a state. As the US capital, it has nary votes successful the US Congress oregon enshrined authorities rights.

While the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 gives the section authorities immoderate power implicit the city, the national authorities retains immoderate powers implicit Washington. For example, Congress may overturn section resolutions approved by the metropolis council.

The instrumentality besides allows the president to instrumentality over policing successful the superior for 30 days.

Washington besides votes overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party – Democrat Kamala Harris won the metropolis against Trump, a Republican, with 92.5 percent of the ballots past twelvemonth – and it has been ripe for a Trump crackdown.

Several residents expressed bewilderment to Al Jazeera and questioned the request for patrols by national forces successful crowded metro stations and tourer areas that are low-crime spots.

Iced out. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/xhexqgmbzS

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 14, 2025

Crime successful DC

Washington is simply a metropolis of 700,000 radical with a metropolitan country that extends into suburbs successful Maryland and Virginia and encompasses much than six cardinal residents.

Kindle said immoderate tourists and Republican officials privation Washington to look similar an “amusement park” alternatively than the densely populated metropolis that it is.

“They deliberation that this is similar Disneyland. This is simply a tourer spot. It should beryllium sanitised for them,” helium said. “But they’re seeing what they would spot successful their ain cities.”

Despite improvements successful caller years, respective residents told Al Jazeera that transgression inactive remains a interest successful Washington.

The metropolis has a homicide complaint of astir 25 per 100,000 residents, which is importantly higher than the nationalist mean but little than different cities of akin size, including Detroit, Michigan, and Memphis, Tennessee.

US News & World Report, which tracks transgression information for its rankings, does not see Washington connected the list of the 25 astir unsafe cities successful the country.

Some invited the National Guard

Washington continues to endure from spot transgression that sometimes turns violent, particularly carjackings involving juveniles, with 190 incidents recorded this twelvemonth truthful far.

While defending the deployment of troops successful DC, the White House argued connected its website that Washington has the fourth-highest homicide complaint successful the state – “nearly six times higher than New York City and besides higher than Atlanta, Chicago, and Compton.”

Leroy Miles, a 75-year-old retiree, said “it’s good” that national forces are helping the section police.

Miles said helium was nary instrumentality of Trump and called him a “crook” but accused section authorities of not doing an capable occupation successful combating crime.

“These young radical retired here, they’re robbing and killing. They’re carjacking. So they request immoderate benignant of aged instrumentality and order,” said Miles, who has ever lived successful Washington.

“What’s happening – a batch of radical don’t similar it, but it mightiness work.”

A demonstrator holds a one-person protestation extracurricular Union Station connected August 21, 2025 [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera]

‘Less safe’

Parker stressed that determination is nary transgression situation successful Washington, but helium added that it “doesn’t mean that we don’t person much enactment to do”.

“There are ways successful which our section authorities tin productively enactment with the national government,” Parker said.

“And what is happening present – wherever determination is an influx of national officers crossed the metropolis and National Guards, radical deployed, including those from different states – is not the way. This is not however this should beryllium done.”

He underscored that the Republican-controlled Congress has chopped and truthful acold failed to reconstruct $1bn successful backing for Washington – wealth that would spell to warring crime, paying constabulary officers and supporting metropolis services that heighten nationalist safety.

The assembly subordinate expressed admiration for the National Guard troops, who are called connected to assistance successful crises and earthy disasters, but helium said bringing outsiders to constabulary the metropolis could erode spot betwixt the assemblage and instrumentality enforcement officers.

“We’re already seeing it. I person heard straight from residents who are second-guessing calling 911 successful instances of existent emergencies for fearfulness of what’s going to beryllium the result oregon who mightiness amusement up astatine their door,” helium said.

“I’m proceeding from parents that they are acrophobic astir sending their kids to schoolhouse for the archetypal time of schoolhouse adjacent week. I americium proceeding from residents who are defending and rallying against ICE patrols that are seeking to criminalise our neighbours.”

Parker said the national crackdown is making Washington “less safe”.

US National Guard members entering Union Station [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera]

‘We are connected edge’

A Washington Post poll released connected Wednesday suggested 80 percent of Washington residents reason “Trump taking power of DC’s constabulary and national troops patrolling the streets” portion 72 percent of respondents favour the metropolis becoming a state.

Loss of section power successful a spot wherever tax-paying citizens bash not person national voting practice is different facet that is raising protests against the Trump takeover.

“We have, arsenic a country, allowed for the disenfranchisement of Washingtonians, and present determination is an effort to undermine the section autonomy that we bash have,” Parker said.

Wes, a Washington nonmigratory who wished to beryllium identified by his archetypal sanction only, citing fearfulness of reprisal by the government, warned that the tensions astir the contented could boil over.

“We are connected edge. You got radical that’s frightened to travel retired of their houses,” Wes said extracurricular the Columbia Heights metro station, which saw a dense ICE beingness earlier this week.

“You got radical frightened to locomotion the streets similar they utilized to due to the fact that of this amusement of force. We bash not spot the constabulary present astatine all. Now you bring idiosyncratic we don’t know, that has nary skills astir you. They’re not adjacent from here. They don’t cognize however this metropolis works.”

He said that with radical increasing frustrated with excessive policing and cuts to societal programmes, unit and riots could interruption out, and Trump would beryllium to blame.

“He thrives connected chaos. And if determination ain’t nary chaos, helium creates chaos,” Wes said.