National Guard troops began deploying to the streets of Washington, DC, Tuesday, one day after President Trump signed an executive order aimed at addressing crime concerns in the nation’s capital.
“DC National Guard reporting for duty,” the US Army posted on X, including photos of several military Humvees parked near the Washington Monument on the National Mall.
Guardsmen, activated under the president’s Title 32 authority, were even spotted posing for pictures with tourists on the first night of their deployment in the district.
Earlier, the White House indicated that the National Guard was expected to “begin being on the streets starting tonight,” according to the Washington Post, citing an anonymous official.
Only a small fraction of the 800 National Guard members expected to take part in the crime crackdown mission had been mobilized as of Tuesday afternoon, with more expected to deploy in the coming days, a Department of Defense official told the outlet.
Democratic DC Mayor Muriel Bowser could not say for certain what parts of the district the National Guard would patrol, but said she expected their presence to be limited to federal property – like the National Mall.
“My expectation, though it can change, is that they will deploy the Guard on federal properties — that includes parks, monuments, federal buildings,” Bowser said in a conversation with community leaders Tuesday night, posted on X.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the Guard will not be involved in law enforcement functions in the district, but would be able to “temporarily detain” individuals if they see a crime in progress and police officers aren’t around.
Trump federalized the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s 3,400-officer force and activated the DC National Guard on Monday, just hours after he directed some 850 federal agents to patrol the streets of the capital as part of a sweeping effort to drive down crime in the district.
