Backlash Over National Guard in DC     07/08 06:12

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- A National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C., has 
ballooned during the celebrations of the country's 250th anniversary of 
independence, bolstered in part by contingents from Democratic-led states.

   That participation has sparked anger among some in the nation's capital who 
argue the troops are not just there to assist in securing the festivities but 
are being drawn into the Trump administration's ongoing, open-ended Guard 
deployment to the city.

   A contingent from Minnesota sent for the 250th is set to depart early. On 
Tuesday, a coalition of think tanks and civic, labor and civil rights groups 
asked Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to withdraw the state's National Guard 
forces, saying they have been misused.

   "Previous presidents have requested assistance from out-of-state Guard 
forces during major events in D.C., and such requests would normally give 
little cause for concern," the groups said in a letter. "But there is nothing 
normal about the way President (Donald) Trump has used National Guard forces in 
the nation's capital."

   The National Guard has been deployed since last summer

   The presence of National Guard members in Washington, D.C., has been 
contentious since August 2025, when Trump issued an emergency order because of 
what he said was out-of-control crime.

   The local National Guard was activated and deployed to the streets, along 
with hundreds of federal law enforcement officers and agents. Trump also took 
control, briefly, of the local police department. States, all led by Republican 
governors, sent members of their Guard forces, as well.

   Over the months, Guard members have responded to medical emergencies, 
assisted with arrests, helped local police enforce the city's juvenile curfew 
and carried out beautification projects. The D.C. Guard helped with snow 
removal during a major storm in January.

   While the deployment stayed consistently in the 2,300 to 2,600 range, in 
recent weeks the numbers increased to around 5,000 as part of the security plan 
for the Great American State Fair, the fireworks display on July 4 and other 
crowd-intensive events.

   Democratic-led states were part of that surge, and their troops were 
originally expected to remain for weeks. Michigan sent roughly 160 troops. 
Minnesota sent just over 100. Both of those states have joined other 
Democratic-led states in supporting a lawsuit challenging the ongoing 
deployment to the city.

   Activists say Guard members seen far from 250th events

   Keya Chatterjee, executive director of Free DC, a group dedicated to 
achieving statehood for the District of Columbia and one of the organizations 
signing Tuesday's letter, said her organization has seen Michigan Guard members 
near metro stops and in neighborhoods "far from the Mall" despite a threat from 
Whitmer to pull them out.

   Free DC has organized a network of people to monitor and chronicle overall 
Guard activities in the city. It protested at an event last week hosted by 
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meant to thank the Guard troops for their 
service in securing the city.

   Officials there, including acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and top 
White House adviser Stephen Miller, spoke to the troops both about the crime in 
the city as well as security preparations for the 250 celebrations.

   "It's a righteous and beautiful mission," Hegseth said.

   The Pentagon referred questions to the Joint Task Force-District of 
Columbia. which did not respond to a series of questions on the deployments.

   Chatterjee told The Associated Press that the Democratic governors who had 
sent personnel to the city were "pretending they don't know" that their Guard 
members could be used as part of the Safe and Beautiful Task Force, established 
through a presidential executive order last year and said to be fighting crime 
in the city.

   Minnesota ends deployment early as Michigan weighs next steps

   Minnesota is set to withdraw its Guard members Saturday, earlier than the 
planned July 23 return.

   In a statement, Air Force Maj. Nathan Wallin, deputy state public affairs 
officer for the Minnesota National Guard, attributed that to "the successful 
conclusion of festivities" and made no mention of activists' concerns.

   A lone Kentucky Guard member was brought home before the main events began 
after being diverted to the task force "without the knowledge or consent" of 
the state's governor or its Guard command, said Scottie Ellis, Democratic Gov. 
Andy Beshear's communications director.

   Michigan's deployment is due to continue through Aug. 31. But Whitmer has 
threatened to end it if there are more reports of the Michigan Guard being used 
in the ongoing law enforcement deployment. In a letter last week to the 
commanding general of the state's National Guard, she asked that the Guard's 
duties be limited to the 250 celebrations.

   "I have not deployed -- and will not deploy -- the Michigan National Guard 
to support the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission," she wrote.

   Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of Liberty and National Security at the 
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law and a signatory 
to the letter to Whitmer, said the governors of the Democratic states that sent 
Guard members were placing their trust in the administration to limit the use 
of their guard forces.

   "They are trying to make a distinction here between what their Guard forces 
are doing in D.C.," she said. "The problem is the administration is not making 
that distinction -- and cannot be trusted."