West Virginia to deploy hundreds of national guard troops to Washington DC
West Virginia governor Patrick Morrisey's office said in a statement that the deployment is 'a show of commitment to public safety and regional cooperation' and the state will provide equipment and 'approximately 300-400 skilled personnel as directed'.
The deployment comes after Donald Trump ordered hundreds of Washington DC national guard troops to mount a show of force and temporarily took over the city's police department to curb what the president depicts as a crime and homelessness emergency in the nation's capital.
Data compiled by the DC police department shows that violent crime was actually at a 30-year-low when Trump returned to office in January, and has declined a further 26% since then.
Last weekend, Trump ordered the district's homeless residents to leave, or face forcible relocation, after his motorcade passed a handful of unhoused people en route to his golf course outside the city. On Thursday, local officials cleared away one of the roadside encampments Trump had complained about, arguing that they could do so in a more humane fashion than untrained federal forces.
A justice department order to replace the Washington police chief, Pamela Smith, with DEA head Terry Cole as the city's 'emergency police commissioner' ran into problems after a challenge in federal court by the DC attorney general, Brian Schwalb.
Without issuing a direct ruling on the challenge, US district judge Ana Reyes indicated that Smith has to remain in charge.
But efforts to increase federal control of the district resumed on Saturday with the order to deploy West Virginia's national guard.
Drew Galang, a spokesperson for Morrisey, said the state's national guard received the order to send equipment and personnel to DC late on Friday and was working to organize the deployment.
A White House official told Reuters on Saturday that more national guard troops were being called in to Washington to 'protect federal assets, create a safe environment for law enforcement officials to carry out their duties when required, and provide a visible presence to deter crime'.
The Chamberlain Network, a veteran's group that describes itself as 'dedicated to protecting democracy', commented on X that the order for West Virginia's national guard to police DC was 'pulling them away from their core mission of protecting our communities'.
'From floods to winter storms, we count on our Guard on in a crisis,' the group said. 'They should be home, ready to respond—not on a political policing mission.'
Since arriving in Washington last week, about 800 national guard troops under Trump's direct control have served as a visible presence in public areas, assigned to administrative and logistical duties as well as 'area beautification' work, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Defense officials had said they would not be carrying weapons but 'weapons are available if needed but will remain in the armory,' the US army said in a press release.
A US official told Reuters that a formal order authorizing the national guard troops to carry firearms would be issued but it would largely affect military police officers with sidearms.
The White House also said on Saturday that national guard in DC are conducting patrols on foot and in vehicles around the national mall and Union Station, adding that the troops are not making arrests at this time.
Trump has indicated that he may take similar actions in other Democratic-controlled cities. A federal judge in San Francisco is expected in the coming weeks to issue a ruling on whether Trump violated the law by deploying national guard troops to Los Angeles in June without the approval of California's governor, Gavin Newsom.
Typically the national guard is deployed only instances where a state governor requests it. However the DC national guard reports directly to the president.
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