Trump’s takeover of Washington law enforcement faces anger, pushback and protests

WASHINGTON — Members of the United States National Guard stood near the Washington Monument on Saturday amid escalating tensions in the U.S. capital as President Donald Trump ramped up the presence of law enforcement in the mostly Democratic city.

Tourists walking by the uniformed troops in Washington’s blistering weekend heat were confused about their presence, with a group from Kentucky asking why the troops were even there. Some families requested photos with the troops and the National Guard members obliged.

The sight of army-fatigued National Guard members and face-covered police agents has increased in Washington throughout the week after Trump signed an executive order declaring a crime emergency in the nation’s capital.

Many residents of Washington are outraged by Trump’s overreach, with scores taking to the streets on Saturday to protest the president’s takeover. People held signs that read “Hands off DC” and “Dump Trump” while chanting “Trump must go” as they walked toward the White House.

Autumn Tustin, holding a sign that said “No ICE! No National Guard!” said it was important to show up for the demonstration outside the White House because other people don’t feel safe coming out to push against Trump’s agenda to take over the capital.

“Being part of a movement feels like the best thing we can do at this point,” she told The Canadian Press.

Tustin said sometimes it feels like “frogs in a boiling pot of water,” where there are a lot of ongoing changes that have huge consequences down the road.

She has seen several National Guard members in tourist areas, describing it as “bizarre” and a “waste of talent and money.”

On Saturday, West Virginia, Ohio and South Carolina authorized hundreds of additional National Guard members to head to Washington.

“West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said.

Hundreds of federal law enforcement officers from agencies such as the Secret Service and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement have also fanned across the city.

Social media platforms have since filled with videos and pictures of federal agents descending on neighbourhoods — apprehending delivery drivers, dismantling homeless camps and approaching people on the city’s public transportation system and in local parks.

One viral video showed a man hurling a sandwich at a federal law-enforcement official. Following the incident, sandwich-thrower Sean Charles Dunn was fired from his job in the U.S. Justice Department and charged with a felony.

Trump’s takeover has caused outrage from Washington residents but there’s little city leaders are able to do to stop it. The District of Columbia is uniquely controlled by the federal government and local leaders are obliged to co-operate with Trump’s order.

Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, in a letter to residents, said the city’s “limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.”

Trump on Monday claimed he had to take the action because crime “is getting worse, not getting better,” even as police data shows that violence in the capital city is falling.

Washington has been plagued by violent crime, particularly during drug epidemics of the 1980s and early 1990s. There was a spike in violent crime again in 2023 but it plummeted the following year and has declined again so far in 2025.

Much of the National Guard presence in Washington appears symbolic, with members roasting in the summer heat near national monuments and museums. Other law enforcement agencies, however, have descended throughout the city, evoking anger and fear in many local residents.

There’s been a clear increase in police presence in neighbourhoods like the dense and diverse Columbia Heights, and on Friday night in entertainment districts like U Street, 14th Street and 16th Street, north of the White House.

It’s less clear how much, if any, policing has increased in areas in the southeast that have higher crime rates.

Trump was at his Virginia golf club Saturday.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press