Trump-led National Guard Patrol 24 Hours, Washington Citizens Protest: Go To Fascist!

US National Guard Soldiers. (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Washington DC is filled with local National Guard and police officers as security increases in the United States (US) capital under the command of President Donald Trump.

Federal security forces deployed to Washington DC were on guard 24 hours at many points.

Vehicle checkpoints were established along the crowded 14th Street Northwest corridor. However, not far from there, Washington DC residents held a demonstration against the presence of National Guard soldiers in their city.

"Pulanglah, fascist!" shouted one of the protesters, quoted from AFP.

It's been two days, a small group of National Guard soldiers has been seen in various areas in Washington DC. The number increased on Wednesday, precisely in the National Guard arsenal. Then it increased on Thursday local time.

A National Guard spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity to explain, on Wednesday an agent from the US Homeland Security Investigation patrolled the U Street corridor. Officials of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) were seen at the National Mall, while members of the National Guard were parking nearby.

The DEA agent also joined Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department officers patrolling the Navy Yard, while FBI agents stood guard along the traffic-intensive Massachusetts Avenue.

Commands in Trump

The deployment of National Guard soldiers in US territory is legal to a certain time limit. The US president is the highest command holder in the deployment.

US President Donald Trump also took over the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department after being announced on Monday this week.

It is likely that Trump will take over the local police for up to 30 days. However, the authority given by the law to the US President can only be carried out if it is approved by Congress.

"We will do this very quickly. But we want an extension. I don't want to declare a national emergency. If I have to, I will," Trump said.

However, Trump's efforts met resistance from Henderson, a former member of the Washington DC Council, former US Senator Chuck Schumer.

Henderson said he had contacted his friends at Congress to garner resistance to requests for an extension of Trump's authority to the local police.

"Ini hari ketiga dan dia sudah mengatakan bahwa dia akan membutuhkan lebih banyak waktu?" kata Henderson.

Arrest

Patrols of hundreds of federal law enforcement officers and local police were carried out on the streets of Washington and arrested 43 people on Tuesday night, surging 100 percent from arrests the night before.

According to the White House, 1,450 federal and local officers stationed across Washington DC made arrests on the basis of driving under the influence of alcohol, entering Washington illegally, and allegedly assaulting using lethal weapons. Seven illegal firearms have been seized.

White House spokesman Taylor Rogers said more than 100 arrests had been made since Trump stepped up the presence of federal law enforcement officers in Washington last week.

"President Trump kept his campaign promise to clean up the city and restore American glory to our precious capital," he said.

For some Washington residents, the massive deployment of federal law enforcement officers and local police commanded by Trump is deeply troubling.

"I've seen them here, on the subway... actually, they blocked the road where I lived yesterday," said Sheina Taylor, a native of Washington.

"Now it's scary because even if you're a law-abiding citizen, here in Washington DC, you don't know, especially because I'm African-American."