Tensions are escalating in Washington, D.C. as several Republican governors deploy National Guard units to the capital while the Department of Justice launches an investigation into the role of D.C. police. What does the U.S. National Guard actually do? Why are states sending them to D.C.?
00:00Donald Trump has ordered the mobilization of hundreds of National Guard troops for deployment in Washington, D.C., as part of what the U.S. president says is a crackdown on crime.
00:13Republican governors of six states, West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee announced that they will send Guard members to Washington, D.C.
00:25Trump has repeatedly complained about rising crime in D.C.
00:30Whitehouse noted that the city's homicide rate in 2024 was nearly double what it was in 2012.
00:38D.C.
00:38police also face allegations of manipulating crime statistics to make rates appear lower, including reclassifying serious crimes as less severe offenses.
00:49The Justice Department has launched an investigation into these allegations.
00:54This probe was partly triggered after a D.C. police commander was placed on leave amid accusations of altering the crime data.
01:02Trump's move to deploy National Guard troops in the nation's capital comes after he took a similar step in Los Angeles in June.
01:10And the president has indicated that other cities should take note.
01:14Most National Guard forces answer to state governors and have to be federalized, to be brought under presidential control.
01:22But in Washington, D.C., these troops already report only to the U.S. president.
01:27The National Guard is a military reserve force within the United States Armed Forces, meaning that most of its members serve part-time while holding civilian jobs or conducting other activities.
01:46As a response force, the National Guard can be mobilized rapidly to address emergency situations on U.S. soil, typically natural disasters.
01:57When needed, National Guard units can also be activated for deployments into combat zones, especially if the United States is at war.
02:06Unlike parts of the U.S. military, the National Guard performs both state and federal-level functions and is organized into groupings based in the 50 states, the District of Colombia and the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
02:22As a state-based force, generally it is the governor of a state or territory who activates and commands the National Guard when needed.
02:30However, in some situations, the National Guard can be federalized by the president, bringing it under the president's control until the specific federal mission has ended, as was the case in Los Angeles.
02:44The latest budget from the Department of Defense authorizes 4,33,000 National Guard personnel, in total, split across the Air National Guard and Army National Guard.
02:55This means that compared to other components of the U.S. military, the National Guard is second only to the U.S. Army in terms of size.
03:09National Guard members are typically deployed during emergencies, such as natural disasters, at the request of governors and based on specific provisions in each state's laws.
03:19In the aftermath of events like hurricanes, wildfires and floods, state National Guards are often called on to help evacuate dangerous areas, deliver supplies to places that would otherwise be cut off, or provide specialist equipment needed to clear hazardous debris.
03:38The largest National Guard deployment in recent years was during the COVID-19 pandemic, where troops helped construct staff emergency care facilities, transport health supplies across the country, and coordinate other logistics.
03:54Outside of a natural disaster, deployment of the Guard can be ordered in emergencies created by the breakdown of public order.
04:01The use of the National Guard to manage public unrest is not unique to Trump.
04:11During the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, more than half of U.S. states activated National Guard troops to maintain order and help enforce curfews.
04:21Before that also, they were deployed to Los Angeles in 1992 to respond to riots that occurred after police officers who had beaten motorist Rodney King were acquitted at trial.
04:34At that time, riots, looting and arsenal attacks had spread across the city, with dozens of people killed and thousands injured.
04:42The National Guard was deployed during the 1950s and 60s civil rights era to help enforce school desegregation, following the Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
04:55In one of the force's darkest moments in May 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard clashed with anti-war protesters at Kent State University.
05:05As unrest swelled, the troops opened fire, killing four unarmed students.
05:10The shootings sparked outage and also led to reform of the Guard's Use of Force guidelines.
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