In reaction to street crime in the nation’s capital, the U.S. military is considering the mobilization of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. This plan is set under President Trump’s umbrella actions addressing city-based crime. As of early Monday, no official mobilization orders had received the President’s approval. However, it is foreseen that there will be a forthcoming announcement during a White House press conference, detailing the decision to assign a contingent of the District of Columbia National Guard to aid law enforcement officers in the metropolis.
The specifics of this decision were scarce at the point of reporting early Monday. Against the backdrop of decreasing crime rates in D.C., President Trump has expressed a firm view that these rates are, in fact, skyrocketing and has hinted at a potential federal takeover. The anticipated role of the National Guard, as reported earlier by Reuters, would likely be support-based, without any powers of arrest conferred upon them.
In this supportive role, the National Guard is expected to augment the functions of law enforcement officials, either directly assisting them or facilitating the redirection of their resources towards patrol duties. Part of this initiative, as emanating from the Trump administration, is a provisional transfer of 120 F.B.I. agents in Washington to nighttime patrol duties. This represents a key facet of the President’s efforts to address the urban crime issue.
Notably, the majority of these agents are being reassigned from their usual functions at the F.B.I.’s Washington field office. The consideration to mobilize the National Guard echoes the similar deployment this summer, which saw almost 5,000 National Guard troops descend on Los Angeles with orders given to help subdue protests sparked by immigration raids, and to ensure the safety of the federal agents responsible for conducting these raids.
The scenario now unfolding in D.C. follows the apparently successful deployment in Los Angeles, where almost all except approximately 250 of the National Guard troops initially dispatched have subsequently been withdrawn. Yet, this proposed activation of the National Guard is not a first for the Trump administration.
In his initial term, President Trump made the call to rally National Guard soldiers in addition to federal law enforcement personnel with the intent of forcefully dispersing peaceful demonstrations in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests that emerged subsequent to the tragic police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
A unique feature of the District of Columbia is that unlike a state’s governor, there is no local authority over the National Guard. This peculiarity places the power directly in the hands of the President to make deployment decisions, providing the President a broader range of options to respond to situations in D.C.
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