WASHINGTON – National Guard troops couldstart carrying weaponson the streets of Washington, DC as soon as this weekend after Defense SecretaryPete Hegsethdirected soldiers deployed to PresidentDonald Trump'spolice and military crackdownon the capital to arm themselves. For two weeks on the streets of the nation's capital, National Guard troops have not carried weapons, but that is expected to change on Saturday, Aug. 23, according to a senior official with knowledge of the deployment who was not authorized to speak on the record. Soldiers will be carrying their standard service weapons – pistols and M4 rifles, the official said. "At the direction of the Secretary of Defense," National Guard troops "supporting the mission to lower the crime rate in our Nation's capital will soon be on mission with their service-issued weapons, consistent with their mission and training," the Pentagon said in a statement shared with USA TODAY on Aug. 22. Officials previously told USA TODAYthat National Guardsmen could start carrying weapons, depending on their mission. 85626304007 The number of National Guard soldiers deployed to Washington has risen to nearly 2,000 soldiers as of Aug. 21, now that the Republican governors of six states have sent hundreds more troops to join Trump's takeover of the city, according to the Joint Task Force in charge of the deployment. Trumpannounced the deploymentof the first 800 troops on Aug. 11, saying they were needed to suppress what he has called out-of-control crime in the city – despite a documenteddecline in the city's crimerate in 2025. Army National Guard members are required to complete a "weapons qualification" to test their marksmanship and handling of their weapon once a year, per Armyregulations. Although National Guard troops cannot make arrests, they can detain people to pass off to law enforcement. That's already happened in Washington DC recently – National Guard troops detained a man who was fleeing police on the National Mall last week, according to the National Guard task force andnews reports. The military deployment, coupled with Trump's takeover of Washington's police department and unleashing of FBI and immigration enforcement agents onto the streets, havefueled protests and widespread angerfrom city residents. Demonstrators have rallied in public areas under the slogan "Free DC" andrallied in response to a surgein immigration arrests of delivery drivers. National Guard troops have so far appeared mostly in Washington's most recognizable and relatively crime free areas, including the National Mall andUnion Station. They have also increasingly been on patrol in Washington's Metro stations, with small groups of troops an ongoing presence on train platforms throughout the city's downtown. Hegseth, Vice PresidentJD Vanceand Trump adviser Stephen Miller made a combative appearance at Union Station on Aug. 20 to buy burgers at the station's Shake Shack for National Guard troops stationed there. As protesters jeered and chanted "Free D.C.," they lobbed back insults, with Miller calling them "stupid white hippies" and "crazy communists." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:National Guard troops to start carrying weapons in DC this weekend
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