National Guard troops were reporting to the Washington, D.C. armory on Tuesday night as they take the first steps to deploy under President Donald Trump's plan to target crime and homelessness in the city.
An Army spokesperson told the Associated Press that troops have been informed they will serve in support of local law enforcement. Their exact duties and mission have not yet been articulated, the spokesperson said.
The deployment is expected to ultimately involve as many as 800 National Guard troops, who will be mobilized through the end of the week.
Reporting from CNN Tuesday evening showed a group of armored National Guard vehicles parked near the Washington Monument on the National Mall in D.C. The purpose of their being stationed there was not immediately clear.
According to NBC News, a defense official says National Guard troops will remain deployed until at least Sept. 25 and perform crowd and perimeter control in support of law enforcement.
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President Trump on Monday also federalized control of the D.C. police under Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.
"I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse," the president said during a White House press conference. "This is liberation day in D.C. and we're going to take our capital back. We're taking it back."
Despite Trump's claims, statistics indicate violent crime is down 26% in Washington, D.C., compared to this same time last year. There has also been a significant drop since a spike in 2023.
Crime rates have also declined among young people. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, a bipartisan, independent government agency, collects data on arrests of young people in D.C. Its last two years of full data show in 2024, 496 young people were arrested. In 2023, 641 people were arrested.
