National Guard troops on duty in President Trump’s D.C. crackdown began carrying weapons Sunday evening, according to a spokesman for the National Guard task force.
Several members of the Guard from South Carolina were seen late Sunday outside Washington’s Union Station with firearms holstered to their hips.
In a statement, Maj. Michael A. Maxwell said that the change was directed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. On Friday, officials said Mr. Hegseth authorised National Guard members to carry their weapons, though without giving specifics on how often members would be armed as they walked through the city.
Major Maxwell emphasised that service members would operate under established rules for the use of force, employing it “only as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.” He said that more than 2,200 Guard troops were deployed in Washington as of Sunday, including about 900 D.C. members and others from Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Mr. Trump ordered the deployment of troops in Washington two weeks ago, saying that they would help an array of federal agents crack down on crime in the city. But their mission remains vague, and much of the overall federal law enforcement effort has focused on low-level crimes and the detention of undocumented immigrants. By law, the Guard answers to each state’s governor and is generally mobilised only during a national emergency- such as a natural disaster- upon federal request and with the governor’s approval. Their role is not intended to cover crime-fighting, unrest, or demonstrations.
Alongside the Guard, federal law enforcement officers have also been deployed to Washington, including the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Major Maxwell said Guard members would assist in surveying for “community restoration” projects and aid the D.C. police in staffing at public transit stops as the school year began.
Outside Union Station, as travellers waited quietly with their luggage to be picked up, several protesters jeered the half-dozen armed Guard members patrolling the area. One demonstrator, Nadine Seiler, heckled the troops while carrying a sign reading “Free D.C. Release the Epstein Files”; her partner in an orange vest banged a cowbell.
Ms. Seiler, 60, who is from Trinidad and Tobago, called the rollout of the troops in Washington a “manufactured crisis” by Mr. Trump. She added, “As somebody who bought into American ideals and America’s vaunted Constitution, I can’t articulate how disappointed I am in lawmakers and the American people,” who she said were idle in a time of crisis.
Abbey Schneider, 51, a former Washington resident visiting family, said Sunday was the first time she and her daughter had seen Guard members armed after spotting them while out at night last week. “I have a visceral reaction to it,” Ms. Schneider said. “I feel it is unnecessary and a little bit scary. It feels like an escalation.”
Source: The New York Times
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