Imagine this: you’re stepping outside your apartment on your way to work like you do every day, but this time you spot armed soldiers in camouflage patrolling your neighborhood. For residents of Washington, D.C., this has become an unsettling reality.
Throughout August and into September, President Donald Trump’s administration deployed thousands of National Guard troops into the city in order to “crack down on crime,” a decision made without the consent of local leaders.
This is not how the National Guard is meant to function. Normally, governors call their state’s National Guard units when there is an emergency. D.C. doesn’t have a governor, and that unique gap in authority has allowed Trump to step in without the approval of the mayor or other local leaders.
According to cnn.com, Trump rolling out the deployment of troops has also included an attempted takeover of the city’s police department. That is far more than a security measure. It is a power play by our own federal government.
The numbers are hard to look past. According to cnn.com, as of Sept. 2, there were 2,290 National Guard troops assigned to the mission. They are not just standing by and supervising; they are ordered to carry weapons while patrolling the streets.
The lack of consent from D.C. leaders has sparked pushback all across the city. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing the Trump administration, arguing the deployment violates federal law and undermines the city’s ability to govern itself.
D.C. Councilmember Robert White went even further, warning leaders to “stand together not in fear, not in compliance, but against an authoritarian takeover of our city.”
According to newsweek.com, while Mayor Muriel Bowser has noted a significant decrease in carjackings and other offenses since the National Guard’s arrival, she admitted that, overall, the strategy “hasn’t worked.”
Although safety is a priority for D.C. residents, the way that safety is achieved is, too. Crime prevention should come from smarter policing, not by flooding the streets with soldiers who are unwanted by residents.
For people living in the capital, the daily presence of the troops has changed the city’s overall atmosphere. George Washington University freshman Keaton Shepherd, who lives in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, described it to Hi’s Eye as something you wouldn’t expect. Shepherd said, “When you see a person in a full camo suit walking into your residence hall, it’s a bit jarring.”
That jarring feeling is not only a description of shock, but also about the lack of privacy, the increase in intimidation and the decline of local control.
Recently, on Sept. 15, Trump signed an executive order that would send National Guard troops into Memphis, TN to further his commitment to his “anti-crime” agenda. Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee proudly stood behind Trump in the oval office as this signing was occurring. D.C. was never given that option.
D.C. residents already lack full representation in Congress. Now, they’re being denied a voice in how to make their own city’s public safety decisions. The deployment may appear as a positive advance toward a better future for crime prevention, but, in reality, it weakens democracy. Without the consent of the people who live in a city, there should not be troops stationed in its neighborhoods.