In addition to the influx of troops from Republican-led states backing President Donald Trump’s efforts to address claims of widespread homelessness and crime in the nation’s capital, South Carolina and Ohio have announced that they will send a total of 350 National Guard personnel to Washington, D.C.
The troops will arrive in D.C. alongside hundreds of West Virginia National Guard soldiers. Patrick Morrisey, the Republican governor of West Virginia, declared on Saturday that he would send up to 400 troops at the request of the Trump administration.
“West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” Morrisey stated.
About 800 soldiers of the National Guard from Washington, D.C., are anticipated to be sent, bringing the total number of National Guard troops to about 1,500.
The National Guard troops would remain deployed until the “mission complete”—a rather nebulous goal—according to a Pentagon official who spoke to Scripps News on Wednesday.
In order to extend the Guard’s deployment as he sees fit, President Trump stated that he will look to Republican senators for assistance.
Guard members have so far been seen assisting law officers in their work and guarding government buildings in Washington, D.C.
National Guard personnel on assignment “may be armed,” but they won’t have the authority to make arrests, White House officials told several media sites this past weekend.
With posters opposing the “fascist takeover of D.C.” and “military occupation,” demonstrators in Washington, D.C., marched to the White House.
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Tighter federal oversight of local police units is supplemented by the National Guard’s presence. To federalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, President Trump issued an executive order on Monday declaring a crime emergency.
“The city government s failure to maintain public order and safety has had a dire impact on the Federal Government s ability to operate efficiently to address the Nation s broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence,” the ruling continued.
According to a White House spokesman on Sunday, 308 people have been arrested as a result of the stepped-up anti-crime effort.
However, local authorities have reacted negatively to President Trump’s initiatives, describing them as “unsettling.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser remarked, “This is my message to the people of Washington, D.C.” We are aware of the precarious nature of access to our democracy. For this reason, you have heard myself and numerous other Washingtonians support full statehood.
The president’s storyline is also at odds with publicly available crime statistics.
According to data from the Justice Department, violent crime in the city is really at its lowest level in 30 years. When compared to the same period last year, violent crime has decreased by almost 26% this year, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.
