National Guard Now Carrying Firearms in DC

The National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C., will begin carrying weapons on Sunday evening just two days after given authorization by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The deployment aims to combat crime in the city, even as crime rates have reached a 30-year low, marking one of the most aggressive federal interventions in local law enforcement in recent history.

The deployment has prompted strong backlash due to the fact the administration bypassed the city's elected leaders, who have variously described Trump's directive as "unsettling," "unprecedented" and "dangerous."

A Joint Task Force-DC (JTF-DC) spokesperson told Newsweek that service members were cleared to start carrying their service-issue weapons on Sunday evening, and that they were to only use them "as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm."

"Task force personnel operate under the established Rules for the Use of Force," the spokesperson said, adding that the force "remains committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of the residents of the District of Columbia."