National Guard arrives in Washington for crime crackdown

About 800 National Guard soldiers arrived in the U.S. capital by Tuesday as part of a task force created to tackle rising violent crime rates in the city. Some of the activated guard personnel were assigned directly to support local law enforcement, according to the Department of Defense. President Donald Trump said Monday he was taking control of the Metropolitan Police Department through a Home Rule Act section allowing him to control the law enforcement agency for 30 days. Crime had risen to emergency levels in Washington and other major cities around the country, the president said. Law enforcement agents on Monday night made 23 arrests, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and they were expected to continue pursuing criminals in the city over the next month.

How have local officials responded? Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday said she and her administration would work with the Trump administration to take advantage of the extra law enforcement support. She reiterated that Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department would retain control over the department. Bowser and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb have insisted that crime in the city is actually at a historic low. Meanwhile, Bowser has used the national attention to advocate for D.C. to become the 51st state.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s in-depth report about the mobilization of federal forces.