National Guard deploys 800 personnel for DC mission
WASHINGTON
All 800 National Guard troops who were ordered to the U.S. capital Washington to aid law enforcement personnel by President Donald Trump have now been mobilized, the Pentagon said on Aug. 14.
Trump ordered the deployment, which follows a similar move during protests in Los Angeles in June, as part of what he billed as a crackdown on crime in Washington, where violent offenses are in fact down.
"As of today, all 800 Army and Air National Guardsmen are mobilized... as part of Joint Task Force DC, and they are now here in our capital," Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told journalists.
They "will assist the DC Metropolitan Police Department and federal law enforcement partners with monument security, community safety patrols, protecting federal facilities and officers" and traffic control posts, Wilson said.
The troops "will remain until law and order has been restored in the District, as determined by the president," she added.
The U.S. Army later said the National Guard's initial mission "is to provide a visible presence in key public areas, serving as a visible crime deterrent."
"They will not arrest, search, or direct law enforcement," but they "have the authority to temporarily detain individuals to prevent imminent harm," the Army said in a statement.
In a further tightening of control, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi signed an order late Aug. 14 granting the head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) the executive powers of Washington police chief, codifying the federal takeover of the capital's law enforcement.
