Trump deploys 500 more National Guardsmen after shooting. What are the troops doing in Washington DC?
US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered deployment of an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington DC. This comes after two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were shot at near the entrance to the Farragut West Metro station—just blocks from the White House—around 2:15 pm (local time).
“This happened just steps away from the White House. It will not stand. And that’s why President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the secretary of the army, to the National Guard, to add 500 additional troops, national guardsmen, to Washington, D.C.,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
According to the Executive Assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, the troops were performing “high visibility patrols” in Washington, when a suspect reportedly “raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard.”
What are National Guard Troops doing in Washington?
Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in August after taking over federal control of the city’s police force in order to ensure a stronger crackdown on crime. The deployment of 500 more guards today come in addition.
Since then, the troops have patrolled Metro stations and tourist areas and assisted with trash cleanup around the National Mall.
The troops deployed in Washington come not only from the city itself but also from states including West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, and Georgia, reported The New York Times.
Why is the deployment of National Guard troops under fire?
The request for hundreds more troops on Thursday comes in addition to the 2,000 National Guard members already deployed to Washington.
A federal judge ruled last week that the president’s use of the National Guard likely violated the law, finding that the combination of troops from several Republican-led states, assembled in Washington under central command, constituted an unlawful use of the National Guard.
In her ruling, Judge Jia M. Cobb blocked the deployment of the troops, who were scheduled to remain in the city until at least the end of February. She stayed her own order, delaying it from taking effect until Dec. 11 in the interest of “orderly proceedings,” the New York Times reported.
The two soldiers shot were members of West Virginia’s National Guard, Gov. Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia said in a statement.
Suspect in custody
The suspect—who was also shot during the exchange of gunfire with National Guard members—was detained by federal authorities and later transferred to a local hospital. The suspect was identified as 29-year-old Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
‘Act of terror’: Trump condemns shooting
US President Trump was in Florida when the ambush took place, Reuters reported. He called the attack an “act of terror,” and urged a re-examination of every Afghan national who entered the United States under the Biden administration.
“We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country,” he said.
“Earlier today on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, two members of the National Guard serving in Washington DC were shot at point-blank range in a monstrous, ambush-style attack just steps away from the White House. This heinous assault was an act of evil and an act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation; it was a crime against humanity. The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginian National Guards and their families,” Trump said in his address from Florida.
