The national guard troops arrive in DC to execute Trump’s order to fight crime

Washington – The national guard troops began to arrive at DC armory Tuesday morning to present themselves to have to do President Donald Trump’s directive to fight crime in the national capital.

The guards, who entered the headquarters of the National Guard of DC in the east of the American Capitol dressed in their military uniforms, are part of a mobilization of approximately 800 soldiers that the army activated on Monday to help the application of the law.

While Trump’s memorandum said that the mobilization would end once it would determine that “the public order conditions were restored in the Columbia district”, the troops were informed that they would be deployed until September 25.

“Currently, the National Guard is deployed to protect federal assets, provide a safe environment to law enforcement agents in order to make arrests and dissuade violent crimes with a visible presence on the application of laws,” a White House official said on Monday.

Besides Trump when he announced his decree, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said that people should expect to see the guards “to run into the streets of Washington in the coming week” and that they were ready to bring other specialized units.

Trump’s memorandum also ordered HegSeth to coordinate with governors across the country and to “authorize the orders of any additional member of the National Guard to active service, as it deems necessary and appropriate, to increase this mission”.

In an interview with NBC News, Greggory Pemberton, president of the DC Police Union, expressed his support for the moves of the president, which included the federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department. Pemberton said crime is always “omnipresent” in the city, adding that if the president’s order could be potentially useful to fight crime, it would probably have a temporary impact without making deeper changes.

Pemberton said that one of the main reasons why local police “cannot control crime” is due to an endowment shortage of more than 800 vacant officers of officers and laws that the municipal council has promulgated “which really prevent us from being able to do our work and be able to hold responsible criminals”.

“As a short-term measure, if they want to give us 1,000 national guards and 500 federal agents to help us do our job, we will take it,” he said. “We are going to take everything we can try to prevent these victim criminals from citizens.”

Pemberton said he was concerned that if any longer term changes are not made, once the federal agents and the national guard troops leave DC, the Metropolitan Police Service “will be left by holding the bag, which will allow the crime of only, you know, to regain its foot and to start growing it.”

The reactions of the Washingtonian at Trump movements to take control of the city were mixed. Denise Rucker-Krept, a long-standing democrat and resident of the DC district near the place where the guards are mobilizing, told NBC News on Tuesday that she agreed with Trump that the city has a crime problem, but it also doubted a short-term increase in the police and that the military presence would provide a sufficient solution.

“I say that because you can tell people not to make crimes, you can stop them, but if you don’t pursue them, then nothing happens,” said Rucker-Krept. She added that the municipal council and the office of the American prosecutor must do more to pursue those who commit crimes and make the sanctions fast which will serve as a deterrent – including the holding of young people, which, according to her, are a large part of the problem, responsible.

Violent crimes in the district decreased by 26% in the past year, according to Statistics of the Metropolitan Police DepartmentAlthough crime is down 7% during this same period.

The mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, said on Monday that the city had been able to reverse a crime peak in 2023. “This year, the crime is not only down 2023, it is also down 2019 before the pandemic, and we are at a level of violent 30-year crime,” she said. But she added: “We are not satisfied. We have not removed the foot of the gas, and we continue to look for ways to make our city safer.”

Bowser met the prosecutor General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, who oversees the effort, and several other senior officials from the Ministry of Justice. Also present in Reunion was The DEA administrator, Terry Cole, that Trump has typed To direct the police service.

Bondi called “productive” meeing in a Poster on xAdding that they agreed that the safety of residents and tourists at DC was an absolute priority.

Addressing journalists after the meeting, Bowser said that Trump’s takeover by the police will not change the organizational table of force or “how we do business”.

She pointed out that the city wanted to make sure it used new resources, saying that it was focused on “federal overvoltage and how to make the most of the support of the additional officers we have”.

“How we got here, or what we think of circumstances right now, we have more police and we want to make sure we use them,” she said.

Jim Lardner, who was in DC on Tuesday to protest against Trump’s actions, said he thought Trump was trying to distract the public from other problems with which his administration was confronted.

“The idea that there is a kind of DC disorder crisis is a false story invented to distract the attention of (a) to deteriorate the economy, ice raids – which even horrifies people who wanted an action on immigration – and of course, Epstein files, a whole game of diversion,” said Lardner, who held a little of residence “.

“I think this administration would like to take over, not only DC, but any state or jurisdiction that does not completely fold the knee,” he added.