More National Guard troops are heading soon to Washington, D.C., and they are preparing to start carrying weapons in the coming days, officials say, a major shift that comes days after President Trump said he was deploying them to “take back” the capital from what he described as violent criminals.
Defense officials previously had said the 800 National Guard soldiers deployed wouldn’t be armed, unlike many federal law-enforcement agents sent to the capital. They also weren’t to have weapons in their vehicles. “Weapons are available if needed but will remain in the armory,” the U.S. Army said in a press release Thursday.
Late Friday, some Guard members deployed to Washington were told to expect an order to carry weapons, according to people familiar with the planning. As of Saturday morning, however, no formal order had been given, a Defense Department official said.
Three states said they were sending National Guard troops to Washington at the request of the Trump administration. West Virginia will send 300 to 400 troops, South Carolina plans to send 200 and Ohio is set to deliver 150, the states’ governors, all Republicans, said Saturday.
A White House official said that while additional National Guard troops will be called to the district, and might be armed, they aren’t making arrests at this time. The official said that on Friday night, Guard soldiers conducted roving patrols on foot and in vehicles around the national mall.
A Pentagon spokeswoman referred questions to the Army. An Army spokesman didn’t return a request for comment.
Since arriving in Washington on Tuesday, National Guard troops’ job has been largely to serve as a visible presence in public areas, according to defense officials. They have been assigned administrative and logistical duties as well as “area beautification” work.
A small group parked military vehicles on the National Mall, while others stationed Humvees outside Union Station, amid train travelers with suitcases waiting for their taxis. Meanwhile, federal officers have been carrying out law-enforcement duties and patrols around the city as part of Trump’s security surge.
Pentagon officials said the National Guard troops are trained in de-escalation techniques, and would serve much as they did in Los Angeles in June. At that time, Trump deployed more than 4,000 National Guard members, 700 Marines and other federal agents in response to protests against raids conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Their deployment sparked backlash when images circulated of National Guard vehicles parked by immigration checkpoints, and U.S. Marines backing ICE teams.
Local officials in Washington voiced similar concerns, warning that the National Guard doesn’t have the necessary public-safety training, and that involving the military in civilian law enforcement was unwarranted and potentially dangerous.
“National Guard soldiers are trained for warfare and natural disasters, not for community policing,” district Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said Monday, accusing Trump of “trying to create compelling TV.”
Agents from ICE, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration have participated in arrests and patrols around the district, leading to protests and backlash in some communities.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had indicated that Guard members should play an active role as well. ”We’re not going to have National Guards sitting there like this,” he said in a Fox News interview Monday, crossing his arms, “seeing a crime committed and not do something about it.”
Trump was flanked by Hegseth on Monday when he announced he was deploying the National Guard to Washington and placing the city’s police department under federal control. He said he was taking drastic measures to restore law and order, describing the nation’s capital as being “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.”
While local officials acknowledge problems remain, violent crime in the District of Columbia was down 35% last year from 2023, Justice Department data show, the lowest in more than 30 years. The data showed a decline in homicides, robberies, armed carjackings and assaults with a dangerous weapon
Unlike state National Guards, which answer to governors unless they are federalized, the National Guard in the district reports directly to the president through the defense and Army secretaries. Trump’s order to Hegseth noted that the mobilization would remain in effect “until I determine that conditions of law and order have been restored in the District of Columbia.”
Write to Vera Bergengruen at vera.bergengruen@wsj.com , Lara Seligman at lara.seligman@wsj.com and Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com
