US National Guard troops begin carrying weapons in Washington, DC

The subject said immoderate troops are present carrying guns arsenic Trump claims determination is present ‘no crime’ successful the US capital.

National Guard troops patrolling the United States capital astatine the absorption of President Donald Trump person started carrying firearms, the subject said connected Sunday.

“Starting the precocious evening of August 24, 2025, [Joint Task Force-DC] work members began carrying their service-issued weapon,” the Joint Task Force-DC said successful a statement.

The troops are lone authorised to usage unit “as a past edifice and solely successful effect to an imminent menace of decease oregon superior bodily harm”, the connection said.

Unnamed officials told the Reuters quality bureau that the National Guard would either transportation M17 pistols oregon M4 rifles.

The announcement came arsenic Trump claimed, without evidence, connected Sunday that determination is “NO CRIME AND NO MURDER IN DC!”, 1 week aft helium deployed troops there.

In the aforesaid station connected Truth Social, Trump said helium mightiness “send successful the ‘troops'” to neighbouring Baltimore, which helium described arsenic “out of control” and “crime-ridden”.

Responding to an invitation from Maryland Governor Wes Moore to sojourn Baltimore and locomotion its streets, Trump said: “I would overmuch similar that helium cleanable up this Crime catastrophe earlier I spell determination for a ‘walk’.”

However, according to the Baltimore constabulary department, determination was a double-digit simplification successful weapon unit successful July compared with the erstwhile year. The metropolis has had 84 homicides truthful acold this twelvemonth – the fewest successful much than 50 years, according to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.

In Washington, DC, which has a colonisation of conscionable much than 700,000 people, thousands of National Guard and national instrumentality enforcement officers are present patrolling the streets.

The National Guard is simply a part-time unit of reserve soldiers, which, according to the US Army, tin beryllium called connected to respond to home emergencies, overseas combat missions and “counter-drug efforts”.

People protestation against Trump’s usage of national instrumentality enforcement and National Guard troops successful the metropolis during a rally on the U-Street corridor successful northwest Washington, DC, connected Saturday [Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo]

Their beingness successful the nationalist capital, on with national instrumentality enforcement officers, has been met by protests, arsenic good arsenic fear and confusion from residents.

At Trump’s request, immoderate Republican governors person sent hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, DC, which the president has depicted arsenic being successful the grip of a transgression wave, though authoritative information shows transgression is down successful the city.

Since Washington, DC, is not a state, the president has the powerfulness to instrumentality over policing successful the superior for up to 30 days.

Many residents person agelong advocated for the territory to go a state. However, Democrats did not further prosecute efforts to marque it a authorities aft passing a measure successful favour of it done the then-Democrat-controlled House of Representatives successful 2020.

Meanwhile, JB Pritzker, the Democratic politician of Illinois, connected Sunday rejected Trump’s propulsion to nonstop troops into Chicago.

“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicise Americans who serve successful uniform, and proceed abusing his powerfulness to distract from the symptom helium is causing moving families,” Pritzker said successful a statement.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies