The Pentagon said that the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that the National Guard soldiers patrolling the roads of Washington for the law enforcement crack of President Trump would be armed, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The Defense Department did not immediately give any other details about the new development or why it was needed.
The move is an increase in intervention in policing in the country’s capital of Mr. Trump and it comes that about 2,000 national guard members are stationed in the city, this week with the arrival of hundreds of soldiers from several Republican -led states.
The Pentagon and the army said last week that soldiers would not carry weapons. The new guidance is that they will take their service-to weapons.
National Guard personnel have been deployed in DC since then finals weekWhen Mr. Trump ordered the DC guard to crack down What has he called A “epidemic of crime.” Federal agents have also patrolled the city, and the President has claimed control of the local metropolitan police department.
It was not clear that the role of a guard could change in federal intervention. Soldiers have not participated in law enforcement and are roughly protecting sites including the National Mall and Union Station and help in the crowd control.
Some soldiers have fed the squirrel. A guard member helped a woman carry her belongings below stairs to a train station. Others have been seen taking photos with passers -by, standing chatting and drinking coffee. No indications have been given that have faced the dangers that will require weapons.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump visited an American park police facility in South -East DC, and Hamburger and pizza assigned As he thanked the federal law enforcement. A day earlier, Hegseth as well as Vice President JD Vance and White House Deputy Chief Staff Stephen Miller visited the union station at the union station.
Mr. Trump has insisted that they know that they feel more secure than before in the city, but local authorities say the initiative is unnecessary. After spiking in 2023, violent crime in DC Is decreasing According to local police data, for the last one and a half years. Mr. Trump has claimed that crime is a crime.
The offices of the city police department and Mayor Muril Boseer and Attorney General Brian Shwalab did not immediately respond to the requests for comment.
Earlier this week, a person, familiar with the conversation, informed the city about the intention of being armed for the National Guard. The person was not authorized to disclose the plans and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Columbia National Guard District spokesperson and a military task force, who oversee all guard soldiers in Washington, did not respond to the messages seeking comments immediately.
