US National Guard Troops In Washington Start Carrying Weapons

National Guard in Washington DC (Twitter/District of Columbia National Guard)

JAKARTA - The placement of US National Guard troops to Chicago has come under opposition, as their colleagues who were deployed to the streets of Washington DC as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on crimes began carrying weapons on Sunday evening local time.

The exact number of troops who will carry weapons is still uncertain, but they will carry M17 or M4 rifles, according to officials who speak on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter.

Hundreds of unarmed National Guard troops have been on the streets of Washington for the past two weeks after Trump declared a state of emergency crime in the district.

Defense Minister Pete Hegseth last week allowed the troops to carry weapons.

The Garda-DC Joint Task Force said in a written statement on Sunday its personnel would only use the force "as a last resort and solely in response to the threat of death or serious body injury."

Meanwhile, President Trump said he might expand his crackdown on crimes to Chicago, by intervening in another Democrat-ruled city. And on Sunday, he proposed a possible deployment of troops to Baltimore, Maryland, which is controlled by the Democrats.

Meanwhile, Democratic House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Sunday President Trump had no authority to deploy troops to Chicago as the Pentagon was making initial plans for the possible deployment.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon had made initial plans about what the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago would look like.

An official said the plan was part of a military effort to anticipate Trump's request and noted that senior Pentagon officials had not been briefed on it. It is not uncommon for the Pentagon to plan a potential deployment of troops before an official order is issued.

Jeffries said every step to deploy troops to Chicago was President Trump's attempt to create a crisis. Crime, including murder, had declined in Chicago last year.

"There is no basis, there is no authority for Donald Trump to potentially try to deploy federal troops to Chicago," Jeffries told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

Jeffries quoted JB Pritzker, the Democratic Governor of Illinois, covering Chicago, as saying no state of emergency requires the deployment of a National Guard or other military.

Separately, criticizing Democratic Party Governor Wes Moore for the crime rate in Baltimore, President Trump said he was ready to deploy troops there as well.

In July, the Baltimore Police Department said there had been a double-digit drop in gun violence compared to the previous year. The city has experienced 84 murder cases so far this year - the least in more than 50 years, according to the mayor.

"If Wes Moore needs help, I will send a 'force', which is being carried out in DC and immediately clean up the crime," President Trump wrote at Truth Social on Sunday.

Several Republican governors have sent hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, DC, at the request of President Trump.

The president described the capital as being hit by a wave of crime, although official data showed the city's crime rate had declined.

On Sunday, President Trump confirmed without evidence, there is now no crime in the city and linked it to the deployment of troops and hundreds of federal law enforcement personnel.

President Trump's power over Chicago and Baltimore is much smaller than that of the District of Columbia, where as president he holds a greater influence.

Chapter 10 of the US Law, a federal law outlining the role of the US Armed Forces, includes provisions that allow the president to deploy National Guard units to ward off invasions, quell insurgencies, or allow the president to enforce the law.

President Trump cited this provision, known as Article 12406, when he sent the National Guard unit to California earlier this year to counter protests, despite objections from Governor Gavin Newsom.

In the Chicago case, referred to as an asylum city, President Trump may argue a local law prohibiting city officials from cooperating with federal immigration agencies from preventing the president from implementing the law, which justifies military presence.

President Trump will almost certainly face a lawsuit if he uses Article 12406 to send National Guard troops from Republican-led states to the base of the Democratic Party.