Three Republican-led US states will send members of their National Guard forces to Washington, DC to bolster the roughly 800 troops President Donald Trump has already deployed to the city.
West Virginia Governor Parick Morrisey said he would send 300-400 of the state’s National Guard troops at Trump’s request. South Carolina will send 200 troops, and Ohio will send 150 military police from their National Guard, their governors said.
Trump declared a “public safety emergency” on Monday, claiming the nation’s capitol was gripped by “complete and total lawlessness.”
Washington DC’s elected officials have objected these claims, and hundreds of DC residents marched in protest on Saturday.
Agents from several federal law enforcement agencies have spent the week patrolling Washington’s most populous and touristed areas alongside the National Guard troops.
Many in Washington DC, where 92% of residents voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, have expressed frustration with Trump’s enforcement policy.
Residents have taken to filming federal officers as they patrol and over the weekend, the frustration expanded into peaceful protests against the administration.
Marchers congregated in Dupont Circle, a central hub in the city, and marched through the streets chanting “Free DC!” Some banged drums and rang bells as they marched.
Residents in Washington, DC have expressed concerns about crime in surveys, and a former employee of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was attacked and beaten in the city recently.
Trump has painted a portrait of the nation’s capital as beset by “violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.”
But Mayor Muriel Bowser has rejected Trump’s claims about rampant crime in the city. She acknowledged there had been a spike in crime in 2023 that has since dropped off.
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) data shows homicides dropped by 32% between 2023 and 2024 and reached their lowest level since 2019.
Preliminary data shows violent crime overall is down 26% so far in 2025, compared to the same point in 2024, according to MPD data. Robbery is down 28%, BBC Verify reports.
The Trump administration initially tried to take command of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department using the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, but rescinded the order after city officials took them to court.
However, Judge Ana Reyes said that Mayor Bowser was required to follow White House directives.
By BBC News
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