Some National Guard units in Washington are now carrying firearms in
escalation of Trump deployment
[August 25, 2025]
By JONATHAN J. COOPER, LEAH ASKARINAM and KONSTANTIN
TOROPIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s
capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying
firearms, an escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a
directive issued late last week by his defense secretary.
A Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly
said some units on certain missions would be armed — some with handguns
and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with
firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use
of force.
An Associated Press photographer on Sunday saw members of the South
Carolina National Guard outside Union Station with holstered handguns.
A statement from the joint task force that has taken over policing in
the nation’s capital said units began carrying their service weapons on
Sunday and that the military's rules say force should be used “only as a
last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or
serious bodily harm.” It said the force is committed to protecting “the
safety and wellbeing” of Washington's residents.
The defense official who spoke to The Associated Press said only troops
on certain missions would carry guns, and that would include those
patrolling to establish a law enforcement presence throughout the
capital. Those working in transportation or administration would likely
remain unarmed.
Thousands of National Guard and federal law enforcement officers are now
patrolling the district’s streets, drawing sporadic protests from local
residents.
The development in Trump’s extraordinary effort to override the law
enforcement authority of state and local governments comes as he is
considering expanding the deployments to other Democratic-led cities,
including Baltimore, Chicago and New York.
Earlier Sunday, the president responded to an offer by Maryland’s
governor to join him in a tour of Baltimore by saying he might instead
“send in the ‘troops.’”
Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, has criticized Trump's unprecedented flex of
federal power aimed at combatting crime and homelessness in Washington.
Moore last week invited Trump to visit his state to discuss public
safety and walk the streets.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said Moore asked “in a rather
nasty and provocative tone,” and then raised the specter of repeating
the National Guard deployment he made in Los Angeles over the objections
of California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.
"Wes Moore’s record on Crime is a very bad one, unless he fudges his
figures on crime like many of the other ‘Blue States’ are doing," Trump
wrote, as he cited a pejorative nickname he uses frequently for the
California governor. “But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum
did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby
DC, and quickly clean up the Crime.”
Moore said he invited Trump to Maryland “because he seems to enjoy
living in this blissful ignorance" about improving crime rates in
Baltimore. After a spike during the pandemic that matched nationwide
trends, Baltimore's violent crime rate has fallen. The 200 homicides
reported last year were down 24% from the prior year and 42% since 2021,
according to city data. Between 2023 and 2024, overall violent crime was
down nearly 8% and property crimes down 20%.
“The president is spending all of his time talking about me,” Moore said
on CBS's “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “I'm spending my time talking
about the people I serve.”
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People protest against President Donald Trump's use of federal law
enforcement and National Guard troops in the city during a rally
along the U street corridor in northwest Washington, Saturday, Aug.
23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Trump is “spouting off a bunch of lies about public safety in
Maryland,” Moore said in a fundraising email.
In Washington, where Trump has surged National Guard troops and
federal law enforcement officers, a patchwork of protests popped up
throughout the city over the weekend, while some normally bustling
corners were noticeably quiet. In some of the most populated areas,
residents walked by small groups of national guardsmen, often
talking among themselves. Videos of arrests and detainments
circulated on social media.
Trump has said Chicago and New York are most likely his next
targets, eliciting strong pushback from Democratic leaders in both
states. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Pentagon has
spent weeks preparing for an operation in Chicago that would include
National Guard troops and potentially active-duty forces.
Asked about the Post report, the White House pointed to Trump's
earlier comments discussing his desire to expand his use of military
forces to target local crime.
“I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the
White House on Friday, adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.”
Trump has repeatedly described some of the nation’s largest cities —
run by Democrats, with Black mayors and majority-minority
populations — as dangerous and filthy. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott
is Black, as is Moore. The District of Columbia and New York also
have Black mayors.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, speaking during a religious event Sunday at
Howard University in Washington, said the Guard's presence in the
nation's capital was not about crime: "This is about profiling us.”
“This is laced with bigotry and racism,” he later elaborated to
reporters. "Not one white mayor has been designated. And I think
this is a civil rights issue, a race issue, and an issue of D.C.
statehood.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said there is no emergency
warranting the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago.
“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize
Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to
distract from the pain he’s causing families,” Pritzker wrote on X.
“We’ll continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of
our state, and protect Illinoisans.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city doesn't need “a military
occupation" and would sue to block one. He said there has been no
communication from the White House about a possible military
deployment.
“We’re not going to surrender our humanity to this tyrant," Johnson
said Sunday on MSNBC. “I can tell you this, the city of Chicago has
a long history of standing up against tyranny, resisting those who
wish to undermine the interests of working people.”
___
Cooper reported from Phoenix.
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