National Guard troops have started to arrive in Washington, DC, primarily from Republican states. They are set to join the already deployed 800 troops in the capital. This is on the orders of Trump, who wants to reduce crime in DC.
As per his press conference to battle homelessness and crime in the state, he has announced this move to take over DC with National Guard. Despite the crime rate reducing in the state over the past few months, the guard troops have arrived from four different states.
The guard members are coming from South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia. With their arrival, the streets have gotten quieter than usual, with no street vendors selling jewelry and food.
The National Mall is under heavy surveillance with foot patrols impacting the area the most. Moreover, regions like Columbia Heights are under the reshape attempt too. There has been criticism from local officials, but the arrests and crackdowns in the area are still going on.
‼️BREAKING
More military forces headed to D.C.
150 military police from the Ohio Natl. Guard. 200 guardsmen from South Carolina “to support Pres. Trump in his mission.” West Virginia is sending up to 400. The White House says they’re not armed right now, but could be @7NewsDC pic.twitter.com/oq2gsnnLVR— Phylicia Ashley (@Pashleytv) August 17, 2025
The civil rights activists have labelled this takeover to be against the rights. According to them, DC is capable of handling the situation. There isn’t any crime emergency in the region with decreasing crime rates.
However, Trump has claimed that the city is suffering and needs immediate intervention. There are stop signs in the Yahyaoui area where the police are questioning people. Their faces are covered, and they are in unmarked cars.
Since Aug 7, there have been 465 arrests, and out of these, 206 people are illegal immigrants. According to Karoline Leavitt, the president is ensuring safety and taking a stand for American citizens. Locals aren’t thrilled about it as it’s impacting their business and freedom.
One of the fruit stand vendors, Gloria Gomez stated the business is worse than it was during the pandemic. Besides, several vendors have stopped their business since they are scared of the federal agents. Moreover, customers are scanty and not spending money.
Another vendor thinks that people and vendors are trying to save money in case they get in trouble with immigration enforcement. They also pointed out that the government should protect the community members and not discriminate against them.
‼️🇺🇸 NOW: National Guard Military troops from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana are arriving in Washington, DC. 👀
If it’s ALREADY safe in DC, per MTG, why are they still consolidating our state militia (National Guard) into one location under federal… pic.twitter.com/zZ8xsNFmJx
— Diligent Denizen 🇺🇸 (@DiligentDenizen) August 19, 2025
There are plans for more guard troops to come from Ohio and Tennessee to join the forces. Apart from the locals, Congress is also resisting and also pushing for a bill that will need to report interactions of the Guards with civilians. 44 Democrats are in support of the bill.
Democratic Rep. Sam Liccardo of California has enquired if this takeover in Washington DC and LA is a test for a bigger takeover from the administration. This seems to give executive control of standing armies.
So far, the role of the National Guard and the assistance they’ll be offering is unclear. Trump wants to make Washington DC the safest, but so far it is scaring off law-abiding people, too.
