Thousands march in Washington DC against Trump’s deployment of National Guard

Several thousand people took to the streets of Washington D.C. on Saturday, demanding that US President Donald Trump end the deployment of National Guard troops patrolling the capital.

The demonstration, held under the banner We Are All D.C., drew undocumented immigrants and pro-Palestinian supporters among others. Protesters carried placards reading Trump must go now, Free DC, and Resist Tyranny, while chanting slogans denouncing the president.

“I’m here to protest the occupation of D.C.,” said participant Alex Laufer. “We’re opposing the authoritarian regime, and we need to get the federal police and the National Guard off our streets.”

Trump ordered the deployment last month, citing rising crime and the need to “re-establish law, order, and public safety.” He also placed the city’s Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal authority and dispatched federal law enforcement personnel, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

However, Justice Department figures show violent crime in 2024 fell to its lowest level in three decades in Washington, a federal district governed by Congress.

The National Guard serves as a militia that answers to the governors of the 50 states except when called into federal service. The D.C. National Guard reports directly to the president.

”What they’re trying to do in D.C. is what they’re trying to do with other dictatorships,” said Casey, who declined to give his last name. ”They’re testing D.C., and if people tolerate it enough, they’re gonna do it to more and more areas. So we have to stop it while we still can.”

More than 2,000 troops, including from six Republican-led states, are patrolling the city. It is unclear when their mission will end, though the Army this week extended orders for the DC National Guard through November 30.

Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb on Thursday filed a lawsuit for courts to block the troop deployment, arguing that it was unconstitutional and violated multiple federal laws. But some residents have welcomed the National Guard and called for the troops to be deployed in the less affluent parts of the city where crime is rampant. The National Guard has been mostly visible in downtown and tourist areas.

Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser has praised Trump’s surge of federal law enforcement personnel into the city, but hoped that the National Guard’s mission would end soon. Bowser said there had been a sharp decline in crime, including carjackings since the surge. The mayor this week signed an order requiring the city to coordinate with federal law enforcement.

With inputs from agencies