Hundreds of National Guardsmen from West Virginia are being sent to Washington, D.C. to aid the military mission in the nation’s capital.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced the activation on Saturday, posting on X that the state is deploying “300-400 skilled personnel to the nation’s capital” at the request of the Trump administration. In a press release that followed, the governor’s office added that the state’s involvement will include “providing mission-essential equipment” and “specialized training.” The deployment is being funded “at the federal level,” the announcement said.
That brings the total number of troops activated for the D.C. mission to at least 1,100. The West Virginia National Guardsmen are the first group of troops sent to join the District of Columbia National Guard since it was activated on Monday. The deployment comes five days after President Donald Trump said he was activating the National Guard to join hundreds of federal law enforcement personnel that were sent to Washington, D.C. The approximately 800 District of Columbia National Guardsmen are set up inside the city, with 200 patrolling the streets at any time, according to the military. They have conducted patrols near the National Mall and Union Station.
Trump said he was sending in the large law enforcement and military presence to address crime and homelessness in the nation’s capital. Data from local agencies and the Department of Justice show that crime has significantly dropped in Washington, D.C. However, since last weekend, hundreds of federal agents, including personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Drug Enforcement Administration have arrived in the city, patrolling D.C. streets around the clock. Authorities have also been clearing homeless encampments in the city.
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On Thursday, a Pentagon spokesperson said that the D.C. National Guardsmen are there to support local law enforcement. They “will not be arresting people, but they may temporarily limit the movement of an individual who has entered a restricted or secured area without permission” before turning them over to law enforcement, the spokesperson said.
On Friday night Guardsmen briefly detained one person who assaulted a Park Police officer, according to the New York Times. A spokesperson for Joint Task Force – District of Columbia confirmed the incident to Task & Purpose, saying that it happened during a presence patrol on the National Mall with Park Police. One person got into a fight with a Park Police officer, who requested aid. A D.C. Air National Guardsmen chased down and detained the person before they were taken into custody by Park Police.
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