State sends National Guard members to Washington at Trump team’s request
The move by West Virginia comes as hundreds of District of Columbia National Guard were activated this week to back up local law enforcement.
West Virginia is sending 300 to 400 members of its National Guard to the US capital to assist in the Trump administration’s takeover of the city’s police department.
The move by a nearby state comes as hundreds of District of Columbia National Guard were activated this week to back up local law enforcement in what the Republican administration calls an effort to crack down on crime and homelessness in the District of Columbia.
Governor Patrick Morrisey said in a post on Saturday on X that he was deploying “300-400 skilled personnel” from the West Virginia National Guard to support Mr Trump’s “initiative to make DC safe and beautiful”.
Mr Morrisey said the step reflects “our commitment to a strong and secure America”.
They will arrive in the District of Columbia along with equipment and specialised training services, his office said in a statement.
“West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” Mr Morrisey said.
“The men and women of our National Guard represent the best of our state, and this mission reflects our shared commitment to a strong and secure America.”
The move comes as federal agents and National Guard troops have begun to appear across the heavily Democratic city after Mr Trump’s executive order on Monday federalising local police forces and activating about 800 DC National Guard troops for his plan.
Maj Gen James Seward, West Virginia’s adjutant general, said in a statement that members of the state’s National Guard “stand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region” and that the Guard’s “unique capabilities and preparedness make it an invaluable partner in this important undertaking.”
Federal agents have appeared in some of the city’s most highly trafficked neighbourhoods, garnering praise, pushback and alarm from local residents and leaders across the country.
City leaders, who are obliged to co-operate with the president’s order under the federal laws that direct the district’s local governance, have sought to work with the administration though have bristled at the scope of the president’s takeover.
On Friday the administration reversed course on an order that aimed to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an “emergency police commissioner” after the district’s top lawyer sued to contest.
After a court hearing, Mr Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued a memo that directed the Metropolitan Police Department to co-operate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law.
District officials say they are evaluating how to best comply.
In his order Monday, Mr Trump declared an emergency because of the “city government’s failure to maintain public order”.
He said that impeded the “federal government’s ability to operate efficiently to address the nation’s broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence.”
In a letter to city residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, wrote that “our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now”.
She added that if Washingtonians stick together, “we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy – even when we don’t have full access to it”.
A protest against Mr Trump’s intervention drew scores of people to Dupont Circle on Saturday afternoon before a march to the White House, about one and a half miles away.
Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said “No fascist takeover of DC” and some in the crowd held signs that said “No military occupation”.
Mr Trump was at his Virginia golf club after Friday’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
