National Guard appears in Washington, D.C. Mayor refuses to “authoritarian push”

The National Guard has begun to appear on the streets of Washington, D.C., where President Donald Trump deployed troops to cities and controlled police forces because he believed that violent crimes were out of control.

Armored vehicles were found Tuesday night in urban centers and tourist attractions around the U.S. capital.

Officials said 800 National Guards and 500 federal law enforcement officers were expected to be deployed.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat who denies crimes out of control in her city, described the deployment of troops as “an authoritarian push.”

Republican Trump also threatened similar deployments against New York and Chicago, two other democratically controlled cities in New York and Chicago.

Disguised troops have been entering the U.S. capital since Trump announced on Monday.

They have been seen setting up roadblocks outside several government buildings and taking photos with tourists.

Twenty-three were arrested by federal agents Monday night, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Agents are assisting local law enforcement.

She said the arrests were for murder, gun crimes, drug dealing, lustful behavior, stalking, reckless driving and other crimes.

“It’s just the beginning,” Levitt said.

“Over the entire process next month, the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue and arrest every violent criminal in the area who violates the law, undermines public safety and endangers law-abiding Americans.”

FBI Director Kash Patel later said FBI agents were involved in half of the arrests.

Both the mayor of Washington and the city’s police chief said they shared the same goal with federal agents earlier in the day.

“I’m concerned about the surge in the federal and how to make the most of the federal officials we have,” Bowser said after meeting with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday.

“We know we have to take illegal guns out of the streets and if we have this influx of growth, we know that it will make our city better,” said Pamela Smith, head of the Metropolitan Police Department.

But at a city hall Tuesday night, the mayor’s criticism of Trump raised her criticism.

Bowser calls on community members to “protect our cities, protect our autonomy, protect our own rule, and reach the other end of this person and make sure we elect a democratic house so that we have backing up for this autocratic push”, according to the New York Times.

It was a raid for a firefight for an armed attacker who killed a man in one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., just a mile from the White House on Monday night.

According to local media reports, this is the 100th homicide recorded in Washington, DC this year.

Police said the suspect was wearing a black shirt and holding a rifle for the last time.

The shooting prompted the Secret Service to use preventive measures to strengthen security outside the president’s home.

Violence crimes peaked in 2023, down 35% last year to their lowest level in three decades, according to crime data published by the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police.

But DC Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton disputed the numbers, after accusing the city police department of “deliberately forged crime data and falsely narratives about crime reduction narratives when the community suffers.”

FBI data also showed that crime rates in Washington, D.C. fell by 9% last year.

Research shows that capital homicide rates are higher than average compared to other major U.S. cities.