The Trump administration has ordered some National Guard troops to be armed while enforcing the controversial crackdown in Washington, D.C., officials said Monday.
A Defense Department official said some guard units on certain missions had been instructed starting on Sunday to carry service handguns or rifles depending on their assigned missions.
A statement from the joint task force that has taken over policing in the nation’s capital said 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.”
The defense official said the armed troops would aim to establish a law enforcement presence throughout the capital. Those working in transportation or administration would likely remain unarmed.
About 2,200 National Guard and federal law enforcement officers are now patrolling the streets of D.C., 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.
The White House is mounting the effort despite a broad nationwide decline in urban crime rates.
Trump is also escalating a feud with Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore over the president’s potential plan to target the state’s largest city with a new crackdown.
Unlike D.C., Trump may face significant legal hurdles if he seeks to order troops into cities that are part of states, where governors have authority over the National Guard.
Trump on Friday had said Chicago would likely be the next target of his crackdown on crime, homelessness and illegal immigration.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said his office has not received communication from the Trump administration about military or federal law enforcement deployments in Chicago.
“We have grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops,” he said.
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