{"id":151607,"date":"2025-08-16T22:41:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T22:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/151607\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T22:41:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T22:41:15","slug":"west-virginia-is-sending-hundreds-of-national-guard-members-to-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/151607\/","title":{"rendered":"West Virginia is sending hundreds of National Guard members to Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Hundreds of West Virginia National Guard members will deploy across the nation\u2019s capital<\/a> as part of the Trump administration\u2019s effort to overhaul policing in Washington through a federal crackdown on crime and homelessness.<\/p>\n

The move announced Saturday comes as protesters pushed back on federal law enforcement and National Guard troops fanning out in the heavily Democratic city following President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> federalizing local police forces and activating about 800 District of Columbia National Guard members. <\/p>\n

By adding outside troops to join the existing Guard deployment and federal law enforcement officers, Trump is exercising even tighter control over the city. It\u2019s a power play that the president has justified as an emergency response to crime and homelessness, even though city officials have noted that violent crime is lower<\/a> than it was during Trump\u2019s first term in office.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Washington<\/p>\n

Washington Metropolitan Police officers and military police soldiers with the District of Columbia National Guard watch as activists protest President Donald Trump\u2019s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Washington Metropolitan Police officers and military police soldiers with the District of Columbia National Guard watch as activists protest President Donald Trump\u2019s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

A protest against Trump\u2019s intervention drew scores to Dupont Circle on Saturday before a march to the White House, about 1.5 miles away. Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said, \u201cNo fascist takeover of D.C.,\u201d and some in the crowd held signs saying, \u201cNo military occupation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Trump was at his Virginia golf club after Friday\u2019s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.<\/p>\n

Protest pushes back on federal officers in Washington<\/p>\n

Morgan Taylor, one of the organizers who coordinated Saturday\u2019s protest, said they were hoping to spark enough backlash to Trump\u2019s actions that the administration would be forced to pull back on its crime and immigration agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hot, but I\u2019m glad to be here. It\u2019s good to see all these people out here,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t believe that this is happening in this country at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fueling the protests were concerns about Trump overreach and that he had used crime as a pretext to impose his will on Washington.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Activists<\/p>\n

Activists carrying signs march to the White House to protest President Donald Trump\u2019s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Activists carrying signs march to the White House to protest President Donald Trump\u2019s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

John Finnigan, 55, was taking a bike ride when he ran into the protest in downtown Washington. The real estate construction manager who has lived in the capital for 27 years said Trump\u2019s moves were \u201cridiculous\u201d because crime is down.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, some of the mayors and some of the residents will get out in front of it and try and make it harder for it to happen in other cities,\u201d Finnigan said.<\/p>\n

Jamie Dickstein, a 24-year-old teacher, said she was \u201cvery uncomfortable and worried\u201d for the safety or her students given the \u201cunmarked officers of all types\u201d now roaming Washington and detaining people.<\/p>\n

Dickstein said she turned out to the protest with friends and relatives to \u201cprevent a continuous domino effect going forward with other cities.\u201d<\/p>\n

West Virginia National Guard is coming to Washington<\/p>\n

Gov. Patrick Morrisey, R-W.Va., announced Saturday that he was sending a contingent of 300 to 400 Guard troops to Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cWest Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation\u2019s capital,\u201d Morrisey said.<\/p>\n

The West Virginia activation suggests the administration sees the need for additional manpower after the president personally played down the need for Washington to hire more police officers.<\/p>\n

Maj. Gen. James Seward, West Virginia\u2019s adjutant general, said in a statement that members of the state\u2019s National Guard \u201cstand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region\u201d and that the troops\u2019 \u201cunique capabilities and preparedness make it an invaluable partner in this important undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Federal law enforcement in Washington draws mixed reactions<\/p>\n

Federal agents have appeared in some of the city\u2019s most highly trafficked neighborhoods, garnering a mix of praise, pushback and alarm from local residents and leaders across the country.<\/p>\n

City leaders, who are obliged to cooperate with Trump\u2019s order under the federal laws that direct the district\u2019s local governance, have sought to work with the administration, though they have bristled at the scope of the president\u2019s takeover<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Members<\/p>\n

Members of the District of Columbia National Guard patrol along the National Mall, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)<\/p>\n

Members of the District of Columbia National Guard patrol along the National Mall, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

On Friday, the administration reversed course<\/a> on an order that aimed to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an \u201cemergency police commissioner\u201d after the district\u2019s top lawyer sued to contest. <\/p>\n

After a court hearing, Trump\u2019s attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued a memo that directed the Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. <\/p>\n

City officials say they are evaluating how to best comply.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Activists<\/p>\n

Activists protest President Donald Trump\u2019s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia near the White House, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Activists protest President Donald Trump\u2019s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia near the White House, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

In his order Monday, Trump declared an emergency due to the \u201ccity government\u2019s failure to maintain public order.\u201d He said that impeded the \u201cfederal government\u2019s ability to operate efficiently to address the nation\u2019s broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a letter to city residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, wrote that \u201cour limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.\u201d <\/p>\n

She added that if Washington residents stick together, \u201cwe will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy \u2014 even when we don\u2019t have full access to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Hundreds of West Virginia National Guard members will deploy across the nation\u2019s capital as part…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":151608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[3881,12785,54147,84,69,19887,57,7265,88927,88928,88925,8132,88926,56925,50,11335,80,402,88929,61,67,370,132,68,274,93,13642],"class_list":{"0":"post-151607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"category-us","9":"tag-ap-top-news","10":"tag-dc-wire","11":"tag-deval-patrick","12":"tag-district-of-columbia","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-executive-orders","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-homelessness","17":"tag-james-seward","18":"tag-jamie-dickstein","19":"tag-john-finnigan","20":"tag-military-and-defense","21":"tag-morgan-taylor","22":"tag-muriel-bowser","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-pam-bondi","25":"tag-politics","26":"tag-protests-and-demonstrations","27":"tag-u-s-national-guard","28":"tag-u-s-news","29":"tag-united-states","30":"tag-united-states-government","31":"tag-unitedstates","32":"tag-us","33":"tag-vladimir-putin","34":"tag-washington-news","35":"tag-west-virginia"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115040857938299447","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}