National Guard troops deployed on Aug. 14, 2025, at the National Mall in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — All 800 National Guard troops ordered to deploy to the city have reported to help federal agents and D.C. police crack down on crime, the Pentagon said Thursday.
“They will remain until law and order has been restored in the district as determined by the president, standing as the gatekeepers of our great nation’s capital,” Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson told reporters. “I think there’s no more important job for this department than to stand alongside federal law enforcement partners and local police in securing our nation’s capital.”
Troops from the D.C. National Guard will be deployed to areas across Washington including the downtown and residential and commercial areas, while coordinating with other federal agencies, according to a defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Guard troops are not armed, as requested by law enforcement agencies, and do not have weapons in their vehicles, the official added.
“Military members are to follow the D.C. National Guard rules for the use of force,” the official said. “Service members are trained in de-escalation techniques and always retain the inherent right to self-defense when faced with a hostile act or demonstrated hostile intent.”
President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the 800 troops — about one-third of D.C. National Guard members — to help quell crime in the city and said the federal government would take control of the Metropolitan Police Department.
The Army activated the D.C. National Guard under Title 32, the service said. Of the 800 Guard members activated, between 100-200 troops will be supporting law enforcement at any given time. Their duties will include an array of tasks from administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement, the Army said.
As of Thursday, as troops began 24-hour operations, 815 personnel reported for the mission, with the majority coming from the Army National Guard, according to the defense official. There are no plans at this time to deploy additional resources.
A small number of troops could be seen in Washington on Thursday outside Union Station and around the National Mall. Guard troops patrolled the nearly two-mile stretch from the Lincoln Memorial toward the U.S. Capitol.
Most people at the Mall just walked by or zoomed past troops on scooters without taking much notice. One couple struck up a conversation with a Guard member saying they had watched the news and asked if the service member had been ordered there.
“We were, but we live here. We know the area,” the service member replied.
At Union Station, troops were asked how things were going. One replied, “Great.” Another said, “Honestly, boring.”
At the Pentagon news briefing, Wilson was asked why troops were stationed at the National Mall. She said Trump has been clear that “he is frustrated with the state of D.C.”
“I think another important point of having National Guardsmen all around D.C. is that it is also a deterrent and it makes people feel safe,” she added. “And it lets everyone know that D.C. is going to be a city in which we can be proud of. And we are standing alongside our federal partners to execute on the president’s directive here.”
D.C. police data indicates violent crime has decreased 26% compared with last year. The D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office also announced in January that violent crime in the city in 2024 was at a 30-year low, citing police data.
