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Around 800 US National Guard troops have begun operations in the capital Washington to aid law enforcement personnel, officials said Thursday.
The mobilisation of the troops follows an order by US President Donald Trump for a crackdown on crime in the US capital.
According to defence officials, National Guard members on patrol are not carrying weapons as of now, and they will not have any guns in their vehicles.
Critics fear the deployment is meant as a scare tactic aimed against the homeless and other vulnerable groups, as well as discouraging dissent, after a similar action Trump took during protests in Los Angeles in June, prompting widespread backlash.
Homeless encampments were cleared across town near the National Mall since their deployment.
David Beatty, who was living in a tent not far from the Washington landmark, says the actions of the administration are “anti-Christian”.
“I remember the passage of, ‘as you have done unto the least of these, you have been unto me.’ And the idea that he’s targeting us and persecuting us feels wrong to me,” Beatty said.
“This is disgraceful,” Nicole, another Washington resident who said she was the daughter of two US Marines, said.
«I come here every day, and I never feel unsafe. And putting women of colour? Making these people have these as their work orders? It’s disgusting. And for what,» she asked outside of Union Station as National Guard members patrolled the area.
On Monday, Trump announced the deployment of the US National Guard and the federal takeover of the city’s police force.
Republican leaders have accused the Democrats running the US capital of allowing it to be overtaken by crime. But according to Washington police records, violent crime significantly decreased between 2023 and 2024.
Washington resident Marc Bernstein said that he had concerns over the crime rate in the US capital. However, he questioned the way the administration was handling it.
“This sort of display is not designed to stop gun violence. It’s not designed to stop the drug trade. It’s designed to intimidate people,” Bernstein said.
