National Guard troops deployed on the streets of Washington, D.C., will now carry weapons for personal protection and are allowed to carry out law enforcement duties, defense officials announced Friday.
The decision is an escalation in President Donald Trump's use of military troops to address what he insists is "out of control" crime in the nation's capital. Since his announcement, Trump has mobilized nearly 2,300 National Guard troops from Washington, D.C., and six states with Republican governors. But troops had remained unarmed until now.
ABC News first reported Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had officially authorized the troops to carry weapons if their mission required it. On Friday, the joint task force overseeing the troops confirmed the move, noting that Guard personnel sent on missions would carry M17 pistols, "which are intended for person protection." The task force said Guard members would receive proper training on how to use the weapons before being allowed to carry them.
“This decision is not something taken lightly,” said Army Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard, III, the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, in a statement.
Members of the Mississippi National Guard walk near the Washington Monument on the National Mall after U.S. President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to assist in crime prevention, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 21, 2025.
Al Drago/Reuters
"We are in coordination with our law enforcement partners and all appropriate review processes in place," he added.
The task force also noted in its statement late Friday that Guard troops can carry out law enforcement duties because they are operating under Title 32 status, a law that exempts troops from restrictions under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, because they are still technically under a state governor's command.
Legal experts have long warned about how presidents might use Title 32 as a kind of legal loophole to Posse Comitatus, which is supposed to prevent the president from using the military as a domestic police force. Under Title 32, a president pays for a Guard mission while keeping troops under control of the governors; in this case, Trump asked red-state governors to send their troops to D.C.
While those governors technically retain control of the troops, their missions are being decided by the White House, according to several administration officials.
In a visit to Guard personnel on Thursday, President Donald Trump suggested the military personnel would be playing a larger role in law enforcement in the city.
"You got to be strong, you got to be tough," Trump told Guard personnel at the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility during a visit there on Thursday. "You got to do your job. Whatever it takes to do your job."
President Donald Trump speaks to federal troops at the US Park Police Anacostia operations facility in Washington, August 21, 2025.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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Working in shifts, Guard troops began deploying last week in small numbers at popular tourist spots like the Washington Monument along the National Mall, where crime is relatively low. Standing alongside armored Humvees, the unarmed soldiers and airman could be seen posing for pictures with tourists and talking with children.
Trump then moved to expand the effort considerably, requesting additional troops from nearby states. So far, six Republican governors have complied, with troops arriving this week from Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, South Carolina and Mississippi.
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The military task force overseeing the operation said that most of those troops were in place as of Thursday morning, bringing the force size in the nation's capital up to 2,282 as of Friday evening.
In his visit to the Guard troops on Thursday, Trump suggested the troops could stay for six months or longer.
Members of the National Guard walk at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., August 21, 2025.
Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
“You do the job on safety, and I'll get this place fixed up physically, and we're going to be so proud of it at the end of six months,” he said.
“But let's say at the end of the year, this place will be maxed out in terms of beauty. You'll have all new surfaces. You'll have all new medians, everything's going to look beautiful,” he added.
District of Columbia National Guard soldiers keep watch as travelers arrive at the entrance to Union Station near the Capitol, Aug 21, 2025, in Washington.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
Historically, presidents have relied upon the National Guard to secure cities in only extraordinary circumstances, such as large-scale events like the presidential inauguration or in response to riots, like the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the Capitol.
Violent crime levels in the city have decreased compared to years prior, down 26% since 2024, a 30-year low, according to crime stats released by the D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department.
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks as Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith listens at a press conference after President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department at the Wilson Building, August 11, 2025 in Washington.
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On Wednesday, Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized Trump’s use of the Guard as an “armed militia in the Nation’s Capital.”
“Crime has gone down in our city and it has gone down precipitously over the last two years because of a lot of hard work, changes to our public safety ecosystem, including changes to the law,” Bowser said.
ABC News' Karen Travers and Arthur Jones contributed to this report.