National Guard troops deployed to Washington will soon be armed, according to the Pentagon.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the change, according to an Aug. 22 statement to The Epoch Times from the Department of Defense.
A Pentagon duty officer told The Epoch Times that the guard members will soon use their service-issued weapons, “consistent with their mission and training,” while working to “lower the crime rate” in Washington.
The officer said, “The D.C. National Guard remains committed to safeguarding the District of Columbia and serving those who live, work, and visit the District.”
The guardsmen are patrolling the nation’s capital after President Donald Trump federalized control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department on Aug. 11, ordering about 800 National Guard troops to assist with law enforcement.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse,” Trump said at a White House press briefing at the time.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was put in charge of the Metropolitan Police Department, announced on X that there have been 719 arrests and 91 illegal guns seized in Washington since the federalization.
“Just yesterday we made 40 arrests, took five more illegal firearms off our streets, and had 36 ICE arrests—including a suspected MS-13 gang member,” Bondi said.
Some local government officials were against the arming of guard members; District of Columbia Council Member Charles Allen said: “Trump is once again putting armed military onto the streets of an American city.
“These are the actions not of a president, but of someone on the march to an authoritarian takeover.”
City Council Chair Phil Mendelson posted on social media about the change, saying he’d discussed “the [effects] of the so-called crime emergency.”
Council Member Brianne Nadeau posted a link on X for residents to report police misconduct to city officials after the Pentagon announcement.
Because the District of Columbia is a federal district, powers over the area lie with Congress, which doesn’t allow much recourse for local officials who object to federal decisions.
Hegseth commented on the order on X, with the words “Common Sense” before the announcement.
Trump said the city of Chicago could receive the same treatment to cope with what the administration says is a dangerous increase in crime.
“I think Chicago will be our next. And then we’ll help with New York,” Trump said.
The president met with law enforcement and the National Guard the day before Hegseth’s announcement. The president brought food, including hamburgers and pizza, for about 300 officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the National Guard; the FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; and the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police.
“You do the job on safety, and I’ll get this place fixed up physically, and we’re going to be so proud of it at the end of six months,” Trump told the crowd.
Trump said he believes that by the end of the year, Washington will be “maxed out in terms of beauty.”
“You‘ll have all new surfaces. You’ll have all new medians. Everything’s going to look beautiful,” he said.
Jacob Burg contributed to this report.
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