(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information and to change or add a photo or video.)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered 150 National Guard members to support the District of Columbia National Guard, as states across the country send troops to the nation's capital.
"We have been asked by the Secretary of the Army to send 150 military police from the Ohio National Guard to support the District of Columbia National Guard," DeWine said in an Aug. 16 statement.
"These Ohio National Guard members will carry out presence patrols and serve as added security," he said. "None of these military police members are currently serving as law enforcement officers in the state of Ohio."
The deployment comes as other Republican-led states, including West Virginia and South Carolina, also send National Guard members to the nation's capital, The Washington Post reported Aug. 16.
On Aug. 11 President Donald Trump said he would deploy National Guard troops to Washington to take over the Metropolitan Police Department, which is authorized during an emergency, as part of an aggressive federal effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes told the Justice Department on Aug. 15 to rewrite Attorney General Pam Bondi’s order so that federal officials would order the mayor to make changes in policing, which the law says the mayor “shall” do, rather than directly control police officers.
Reyes said she couldn’t decide on other issues in DC’s lawsuit against the Trump administration until after collecting evidence at a hearing next week.
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This is a breaking story and will be updated.
USA TODAY staff, including White House correspondent Bart Jansen, contributed to this report.
Nathaniel Shuda is the suburban and Saturday editor for The Columbus Dispatch and news editor for the Newark Advocate. You may reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Gov. DeWine orders 150 National Guard members to Washington, DC
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