WASHINGTON
\nThousands of people in Washington DC took to the streets on Saturday to protest against President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to deploy National Guard troops in the city.
\nMarchers voiced anger at the heavy military presence and demanded an immediate end to what they called an attack on their freedoms.
\nProtesters at the \u201cWe Are All DC\u201d march, who included undocumented immigrants and supporters of Palestine, chanted slogans denouncing Trump and carried posters, some which read \u201cTrump must go now,\u201d \u201cFree DC\u201d and \u201cResist Tyranny.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m here to protest the occupation of DC,\u201d said Alex Laufer.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re opposing the authoritarian regime, and we need to get the federal police and the National Guard off our streets.\u201d
\nClaiming that crime was blighting the city, Trump last month deployed the troops to \u201cre-establish law, order, and public safety.\u201d Trump also placed the capital district\u2019s Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control and sent federal law enforcement personnel, including members of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to police the city\u2019s streets.
\nBut Justice Department data showed violent crime in 2024 hit a 30-year low in Washington, a self-governing federal district under the jurisdiction of the US Congress.
\nThe National Guard serves as a militia that answers to the governors of the 50 states except when called into federal service. The DC National Guard reports directly to the president.
\n\u201cWhat they\u2019re trying to do in DC is what they\u2019re trying to do with other dictatorships,\u201d said Casey, who declined to give his last name. \u201cThey\u2019re testing DC, and if people tolerate it enough, they\u2019re gonna do it to more and more areas. So we have to stop it while we still can.\u201d
\nMore than 2,000 troops, including from six Republican-led states, are patrolling the city. It is unclear when their mission will end, though the Army this week extended orders for the DC National Guard through November 30.
\nWashington DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb on Thursday filed a lawsuit for courts to block the troop deployment, arguing that it was unconstitutional and violated multiple federal laws.
\nBut some residents have welcomed the National Guard and called for the troops to be deployed in the less affluent parts of the city where crime is rampant. The National Guard has been mostly visible in downtown and tourist areas.
\nWashington DC mayor Muriel Bowser has praised Trump\u2019s surge of federal law enforcement personnel into the city, but hoped that the National Guard\u2019s mission would end soon. Bowser said there had been a sharp decline in crime, including carjackings since the surge. The mayor this week signed an order requiring the city to coordinate with federal law enforcement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON Thousands of people in Washington DC took to the streets on Saturday to protest against President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to deploy National Guard troops in the city. Marchers voiced anger at the heavy military presence and demanded an immediate end to what they called an attack on their freedoms. Protesters at the \u201cWe Are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-501542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n