Some National Guard units in Washington are now carrying firearms

WASHINGTON AP Selected National Guard units patrolling the nation s capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying firearms an escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by his defense secretary A Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly mentioned several units on certain missions would be armed selected with handguns and others with rifles The spokesperson announced that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force An Associated Press photographer on Sunday saw members of the South Carolina National Guard outside Union Station with holstered handguns A message from the joint task force that has taken over policing in the nation s capital disclosed units began carrying their arrangement weapons on Sunday and that 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 It reported the force is committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of Washington s residents The defense official who spoke to The Associated Press commented only troops on certain missions would carry guns and that would include those patrolling to establish a law enforcement presence throughout the capital Those working in transportation or administration would likely remain unarmed The advancement 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 Earlier Sunday the president threatened to expand his military deployments to more Democratic-led cities responding to an offer by Maryland s governor to join him in a tour of Baltimore by saying he might instead send in the troops He earlier mentioned he was considering deploying troops to Chicago and New York Thousands of National Guard and federal law enforcement officers are now patrolling the district s streets drawing sporadic protests from local residents Trump made the threat to Baltimore in a spat with Maryland Gov Wes Moore a Democrat who has criticized Trump s unprecedented flex of federal power aimed at combatting crime and homelessness in Washington Moore last week invited Trump to visit his state to discuss constituents safety and walk the streets In a Truth Social post on Sunday Trump declared Moore demanded in a rather nasty and provocative tone and then raised the specter of repeating the National Guard deployment he made in Los Angeles over the objections of California s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom Wes Moore s record on Crime is a very bad one unless he fudges his figures on crime like multiple of the other Blue States are doing Trump wrote as he cited a pejorative nickname he uses frequently for the California governor But if Wes Moore requirements help like Gavin Newscum did in L A I will send in the troops which is being done in nearby DC and briskly clean up the Crime Moore disclosed he invited Trump to Maryland because he seems to enjoy living in this blissful ignorance about improving crime rates in Baltimore After a spike during the pandemic that matched nationwide trends Baltimore s violent crime rate has fallen The homicides published last year were down from the prior year and since according to city input Between and overall violent crime was down nearly and property crimes down The president is spending all of his time talking about me Moore commented on CBS s Face the Nation on Sunday I m spending my time talking about the people I serve Trump is spouting off a bunch of lies about society safety in Maryland Moore announced in a fundraising email In Washington where Trump is surging National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers a patchwork of protests popped up throughout the city over the weekend while particular normally bustling corners were noticeably quiet In chosen of the preponderance populated areas residents walked by small groups of national guardsmen often talking among themselves Videos of arrests and detainments circulated on social media Trump has stated Chicago and New York are bulk likely his next targets eliciting strong pushback from Democratic leaders in both states The Washington Post broadcasted Saturday that the Pentagon has spent weeks preparing for an operation in Chicago that would include National Guard troops and potentially active-duty forces Petitioned about the Post record the White House pointed to Trump s earlier comments discussing his desire to expand his use of military forces to target local crime I think Chicago will be our next Trump stated reporters at the White House on Friday adding And then we ll help with New York Trump has repeatedly described specific of the nation s largest cities run by Democrats with Black mayors and majority-minority populations as dangerous and filthy Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is Black as is Moore The District of Columbia and New York also have Black mayors The Rev Al Sharpton speaking during a religious event Sunday at Howard University in Washington explained the Guard s presence in the nation s capital was not about crime This is about profiling us This is laced with bigotry and racism he later elaborated to reporters Not one white mayor has been designated And I think this is a civil rights issue a race issue and an issue of D C statehood Illinois Gov JB Pritzker a Democrat noted there is no exigency warranting the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a predicament politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he s causing families Pritzker wrote on X We ll continue to follow the law stand up for the sovereignty of our state and protect Illinoisans Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the city doesn t need a military occupation and would sue to block one He noted there has been no communication from the White House about a manageable military deployment We re not going to surrender our humanity to this tyrant Johnson stated Sunday on MSNBC I can tell you this the city of Chicago has a long history of standing up against tyranny resisting those who wish to undermine the interests of working people Cooper communicated from Phoenix Source