Three states have pledged to send their National Guard troops to Washington as President Donald Trump presses forward with a sweeping federal takeover of the capital’s policing, intensifying an already volatile standoff that has fueled street protests and criticism of government overreach.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced the deployment of 300 to 400 troops, while South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster approved the dispatch of 200 Guardsmen, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine confirmed that 150 military police would soon follow. Together, their forces will join the 800 members of the DC National Guard already activated under Trump’s executive order federalising local police, giving the administration unprecedented control over the city’s law enforcement.
The move has been defended by the White House as an emergency response to crime and homelessness. Yet city officials counter that violent crime is actually lower than during Trump’s first term and argue that the crackdown is politically driven. Critics also note that Trump bypassed local leaders entirely in issuing the order, a step Mayor Muriel Bowser said represented “a test unlike anything our limited self-government has ever faced.”
Protesters gathered in Dupont Circle on Saturday before marching toward the White House behind a banner reading “No fascist takeover of DC.” Many in the crowd carried signs decrying what they described as a military occupation of the nation’s capital. The demonstrators were a mix of activists and local residents, some of whom said they had stumbled upon the protest and decided to join out of concern for civil liberties.
Morgan Taylor, one of the organisers, said the demonstration aimed to galvanize public opposition to what she called Trump’s abuse of executive power. “We’re here to make it clear that this cannot stand,” she told reporters, adding that her group hopes to build enough resistance to force the administration to retreat.
Local voices echoed that alarm. John Finnigan, a longtime resident, dismissed Trump’s narrative of surging crime, pointing instead to the city’s declining rates. “It’s ridiculous,” he said, calling on mayors nationwide to block similar interventions. Jamie Dickstein, a young teacher, said she felt unsafe with “unmarked officers of all types” now patrolling and detaining people in Washington. She described joining the protest as necessary to stop what she fears could become a “domino effect” in other cities.
The deployments mark a striking show of loyalty from Republican governors even as Trump faces growing unrest in the capital. West Virginia’s Maj. Gen. James Seward, the state’s adjutant general, defended the decision, saying his Guardsmen were “uniquely capable” and ready to support federal efforts. “We are proud to stand with the president,” Morrisey added in a statement.
The federalisation of DC police has already tested boundaries between city and federal authority. Earlier in the week, the administration was forced to abandon a controversial attempt to appoint the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an “emergency police commissioner” after the city’s top lawyer sued. Still, Attorney General Pam Bondi followed up with a memo ordering DC’s police to assist federal immigration enforcement, drawing fresh outrage from city leaders.
In a letter to residents, Mayor Bowser urged calm but resilience. “If Washington residents stick together, we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy,” she wrote. “Even when we don’t have full access to it.”
