The American Armed Forces is contemplating the activation of the National Guard units within the confines of Washington, D.C., aligning with the President’s initiative to rein in city crime. Official deployment orders had not received Presidential endorsement as of the dawn of Monday. However, anticipations are high for an impending White House press announcement indicating the dispatch of numerous D.C. National Guard members to back local law enforcement in the city. Additional explicit information remained elusive as Monday started.
While there is an observable downturn in the crime rates within Washington, D.C., the President has expressed strong opposition, suggesting the situation is grossly mismanaged and even raising the possibility of a federal intervention. The National Guard units, who may soon find themselves activated according to reports by Reuters, are unlikely to possess arrest powers. Their primary role would be to provide necessary support to the local law enforcement or create room for them to focus on their core patrol duties.
In addition, the current administration contemplates a temporary reshuffle, relocating 120 FBI agents in the city to fulfil night patrol responsibilities as a part of the President’s crackdown strategy. The majority of these agents would be detached from their usual assignments within the FBI’s local Washington office. This proposed activation in the nation’s capital trails the earlier deployment of approximately 5,000 National Guard members in Los Angeles this past summer.
These troops were tasked with the duty to aid in pacifying protests that occurred due to immigration law enforcement actions, in addition to safeguarding the federal personnel conducting these actions. All but a fraction, approximately 250, of these National Guard units have been pulled back since then. During his inaugural term, the President had previously mobilized National Guard troops and federal law enforcement resources to counter peaceful protests amidst the Black Lives Matter movement, following the police incident involving George Floyd in 2020.
Differing from a state governor, control of the National Guard does not lie with the District of Columbia. This gives the President considerable discretion when it comes to deciding the deployment of these troops. This perhaps is one of the peculiarities of the governance system of D.C., giving the President a wider operational scope, especially with respect to maintaining law and order.
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