SHOCKING: 1,800 Troops Deployed in D.C. as Trump Recruits National Guard Lawyers as Prosecutors!

D.C. Police Takeover State Dept. Joins Deployment Use of Federal Law Enforcement Politics of Crackdown Black Parents on Edge Dissent and Resistance Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT See Trump’s Use of Federal Law Enforcement in D.C. Times journalists reviewed hundreds of images and videos of law enforcement agents to determine what they have been doing on the ground. Listen to this article · 7:30 min Learn more Share full article By Chris Cameron Elena Shao and Kenny Holston Chris Cameron and Kenny Holston tracked President Trump’s show of force in Washington over the last two weeks, while Elena Shao reviewed hundreds of images. Aug. 21, 2025 Credit... Kenny Holston/The New York Times; Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times; Eric Lee for The New York Times President Trump has overseen an expansive effort this month to take control of law enforcement in Washington, carrying out a conspicuous show of force in the nation’s capital in what he has described as an effort to combat crime. The most attention-grabbing component of that takeover has been his initial deployment of more than 800 D.C. National Guard troops, with another 1,000 coming from Republican-led states . That deployment, echoing Mr. Trump’s deployment of Guard troops in California to support immigration raids earlier this year, has been part of a wider effort by the president to meld military operations with domestic law enforcement, particularly in his immigration crackdown. But so far, the National Guard has operated primarily in a support role in Washington. Guardsmen deployed in the city have mostly stayed in tourist-heavy areas near national monuments and transit hubs, and have so far done little to directly enforce the law. There have been some exceptions: National Guard lawyers have been transferred to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington , essentially acting as low-level civilian prosecutors. Instead, the National Guard presence primarily supports a smaller force of roughly 500 federal law enforcement agents that have more actively participated in Mr. Trump’s crackdown on crime. MARYLAND Park Police and Secret Service agents detained a protestor near the White House . Federal agents and local police were seen making arrests in nightlife areas, including in the Shaw neighborhood. Washington National Guard troops are positioned at these metro stations . The National Guard has been patrolling the National Mall . ICE and other federal agents, along with local police, have arrested people at improvised security checkpoints, like this one in the Navy Yard area. VIRGINIA Washington MARYLAND Park Police and Secret Service agents detained a protestor near the White House . Federal agents and local police were seen making arrests in nightlife areas, including in the Shaw neighborhood. National Guard troops are positioned at these metro stations . The National Guard has been patrolling the National Mall . ICE and other federal agents, along with local police, have arrested people at improvised security checkpoints, like this one in the Navy Yard neighborhood. VIRGINIA The New York Times Those agents have roamed the district on patrol, set up checkpoints to stop and search vehicles and have occasionally evicted homeless people from city streets in a highly visible effort to make arrests and project the administration’s show of force. The White House has lauded their efforts in daily news releases, tallying more than 600 arrests over a two-week period — many of them for immigration violations. In the last two weeks before Mr. Trump commandeered the city’s police, 1,182 arrests were made. Mr. Trump has justified the show of force primarily as a crackdown on crime, using apocalyptic language to portray Washington in the throes of violent anarchy. Crime data shows that violent crime in the district is at a 30-year low , and the Trump administration has cited a drop in the first third of the year . Federal agents so far have not focused on areas with the highest crime rates . The White House has also declined to say how much the operation has cost. By its count, some 2,000 National Guardsmen and law enforcement agents are participating in the effort. A Defense Department official estimated earlier this year that the National Guard deployment in California, including about 5,000 Guardsmen and Marines, would cost $134 million over 60 days. The New York Times has identified at least eight federal agencies operating alongside units that normally operate in the city, like the Capitol Police and Metro Transit Police. Those eight agencies are the F.B.I.; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Border Patrol; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Secret Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the U.S. Marshals. Park Police officers, who normally patrol federal parks in the District of Columbia, have also been seen in various locations around the city. Times journalists