The National Guard troops helping with duties in D.C., including traffic control, are now armed.
NBC News reports that beginning Sunday night, approximately 2,000 guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C. will now be armed—most with standard-issue M17 pistols, though a handful will carry M4 assault rifles. The move comes two days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a new order to arm D.C. crackdown troops, which the former Fox News host called “common sense.”
NBC News reports that the troops are authorized to use their weapons to protect themselves and “as a last resort” in the event of “imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm,” though they are not currently making arrests. Their role is to work with local police on duties including protecting national landmarks and assisting with traffic and crowd control.
On Saturday, AP stated that National Guard troops had been spotted feeding squirrels, drinking coffee and posing for photos with citizens. The U.S. Army has stated they will receive training and “complete annual weapons qualifications” before being armed.
The Daily Beast has reached out to both the White House and the Department of Defense for comment.
More than 2,200 National Guard soldiers and airmen have now been deployed to Washington after President Donald Trump declared a crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital, which he claimed was fueled by illegal immigration and homelessness. Trump also wanted to improve roads and parks and even tackle a vermin problem.
“It was a crime-infested rathole,” Trump said of D.C. on Friday. “And they do have a lot of rats. We’re getting rid of them, too. And we’ve made a lot of progress.”
Teenager Edward “Big Balls” Coristine became the bloodied poster boy of Trump’s “Safe and Beautiful Task Force” after allegedly being involved in an assault on the streets of Washington. Trump shared a gruesome photo of the former DOGE goon at the crime scene, claiming he had nearly lost his life.
However, a report by The New York Times suggests Trump’s crackdown on crime has seen even minor infringements fast-tracked to federal court, versus a local court, which could inflate the crime rate in D.C.
Mark Bigelow, 28, was in his car in Northeast D.C. on August 19 when officers from the FBI, the Metropolitan Police Department, ICE, the DEA and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service noticed what they believed to be an open container of alcohol in the front seat.
When officers questioned the two other passengers in the vehicle, the charging document states that “a second cup containing an alcoholic beverage in the middle row seat” was spotted.
Bigelow was arrested for possession of an open container of alcohol and, after being handcuffed, allegedly made “physical contact” with two law enforcement officers. That led to charges of assault and resisting or impeding a federal officer, which carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.
Bigelow’s public defender, Elizabeth Mullin, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya that Bigelow’s charges were an example of the heavy-handed treatment that has been authorized by Trump’s task force.
“He was caught up in this federal occupation of D.C.,” Mullin said. “This was a case created by federal law enforcement.”
The White House’s Rapid Response unit was unhappy with the reporting of Bigelow’s arrest.
“This article says the man had two open containers of alcohol in his vehicle, then kicked two police officers after being questioned about it,” they wrote on X.
“We think getting would-be drunk drivers and cop beaters off our streets is a good thing.”
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump took credit for a “miracle” reduction in crime.
“D.C. was a hellhole,” Trump said. “But now it’s safe. The big question is how long do we stay? Because if we stay, we want to make sure it doesn’t come back. So we have to take care of these criminals and get them out.”
However a week after the crime crackdown began, a CNN analysis found only a moderate drop in crime being reported but an increase in the arrest of immigrants.
While robberies and car break-ins had dropped by more than 40 percent, there had been a 6 percent jump in burglaries and assaults with a dangerous weapon jumped by 14 percent.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson blamed the media for downplaying Trump’s “exceptional results” in curbing D.C. crime.
“The drops in crime are not ‘moderate,’ they are life-changing for the countless D.C. residents and visitors who have not been murdered, robbed, carjacked, or victims of overall violent crime in the last week,” Jackson said in response to CNN’s findings. “The priority of this operation remains getting violent criminals off the streets—regardless of immigration status.”
The president was also furious with Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for stating that crime was already down in the city before Trump’s troops landed, again threatening a federal takeover of D.C.
“I’m tired of listening to these people saying how safe it was before we got here,” Trump said on Friday. “It was unsafe. It was horrible. And Mayor Bowser better get her act straight or she won’t be mayor very long because we’ll take it over with the federal government, run it like it’s supposed to be run.”
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