National Guard troops appear in Washington DC as mayor rejects Trump’s ‘authoritarian push’

The troops of the American National Guard began to appear in the streets of Washington DC, one day after President Donald Trump deployed the troops in the city and took control of his police forces when he argued that violent crimes were out of control.

Armored vehicles were spotted in urban centers and tourist sites around the American capital on Tuesday evening.

Officials said 800 national guard troops should be deployed, as well as 500 law enforcement agents.

The mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, a democrat, who denied that crime is out of control in his city, described the deployment of troops as an “authoritarian push”.

Trump, a Republican, has also threatened with similar deployments against New York and Chicago, two other cities controlled by Democrats.

He said crime is increasing in cities, especially in Washington DC, although the BBC verification analysis suggests a different trend to DC.

The violent crimes fell after having culminated in 2023 and 2024, they reached their lowest level in 30 years, according to figures published by the Metropolitan Police of Washington DC (MPDC).

They continue to fall, according to preliminary data for 2025.

The crime violent overall is down 26% this year compared to the same point in 2024, and the flight fell 28%, according to the MPDC.

The camouflaged troops have flowed into the American capital since Trump’s announcement on Monday.

They were seen erect barricades outside of several government buildings and take photos with tourists.

Twenty-three people were arrested by federal agents on Monday evening, according to the press secretary of the White House, Karoline Leavitt. The agents help local police.

She said the arrests concerned homicide, firearms, drug trafficking, obscene acts, harassment, reckless driving and other crimes.

“This is only the start,” said Leavitt.

“Over the next month, the Trump administration will continue and relentlessly stop each violent criminal from the district that breaks the law, undermines public security and endangers the American respectful Americans.”

FBI director Kash Patel later said that FBI agents were involved in about half of these arrests.

The mayor of Washington and the city police chief said earlier that they shared the same goal as federal agents.

“What I am focusing on is the federal push and how to make the most of the federal officers we have,” said Bowser after a meeting on Tuesday with the American prosecutor Pam Bondi.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Department, Pamela Smith, said: “We know that we have to remove illegal firearms from our streets, and if we have this influx of improved presence, we know that it will make our city even better.”

But at a town hall Tuesday evening, the mayor sharpened his Trump reviews.

Bowser called on community members to “protect our city, protect our autonomy, protect our original rule and arrive on the other side of this type and make sure that we elect a democratic house so that we have a fixed to this authoritarian push”, according to the New York Times.

This comes then that a manhunt was launched for an armed aggressor who killed a man on Monday evening in Logan Circle, one of the most trendy districts of Washington DC, just a mile from the White House.

It was the 100th homicide recorded in Washington DC this year, according to local media.

Police said the suspect was seen for the last time wearing a black shirt and wearing a rifle.

The shooting prompted American secret services to strengthen security outside the president’s home as a precaution.

Despite the crime figures showing a decrease in violent offenses, the president of the DC police union, Gregg Pemberton, said that the city’s police service deliberately falsing on crime, creating a false story of reduced crime while the communities were suffering. “

FBI data also indicated a drop in crime at Washington DC last year – a more modest decrease of 9%.

Studies suggest that the capital’s homicide rate is higher than the average compared to other major American cities.