On August 18, 2025, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced the deployment of approximately 200 Mississippi National Guard soldiers to Washington, D.C., marking the latest move in a rapidly escalating federal effort to tackle crime in the nation’s capital. The decision, which places Mississippi alongside West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio—each led by Republican governors—comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s declaration of a crime emergency and his executive order federalizing local law enforcement in Washington.
“I’ve approved the deployment of approximately 200 Mississippi National Guard Soldiers to Washington, D.C., to support President Trump’s effort to return law and order to our nation’s capital,” Reeves stated on social media, as reported by multiple outlets including ABC News and Nexstar Media. “Crime is out of control there, and it’s clear something must be done to combat it. Americans deserve a safe capital city that we can all be proud of. I know the brave men and women of our National Guard will do an excellent job enhancing public safety and supporting law enforcement.”
The deployment from Mississippi follows similar actions by West Virginia, which is sending between 300 and 400 troops, South Carolina with 200, and Ohio with 150. These contributions will more than double the 800 District of Columbia National Guard members already mobilized by President Trump’s initial order, as reported by NBC News and The Associated Press. The total number of out-of-state troops responding is expected to surpass 1,100 in the coming days, marking a significant escalation in federal involvement in the city’s policing.
President Trump’s executive order, signed last week, declared a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., and initiated a federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. The order also mandated local police cooperation with federal agents on immigration enforcement, a move that contradicts existing local laws prohibiting such collaboration, according to Army Times. Trump justified the intervention by claiming the city was gripped by “lawlessness,” and that the local government had failed to maintain public order, thereby impeding the federal government’s ability to operate efficiently.
On his social media platform, Trump painted a dramatic picture of the capital’s transformation. “Until 4 days ago, Washington, D.C., was the most unsafe ‘city’ in the United States, and perhaps the World,” he wrote in an update early Monday. “Now, in just a short period of time, it is perhaps the safest, and getting better every single hour!”
Attorney General Pam Bondi echoed the administration’s message of progress, posting on X that “Just this weekend, 137 arrests were made and 21 illegal firearms were seized. In total, there have been nearly 400 arrests—and we are not slowing down.” She further emphasized, “We are committed to making DC safe again!” According to the administration, federal agents from agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, and the Secret Service have been patrolling high-traffic areas and neighborhoods, making hundreds of arrests in the week since the operation began.
However, the Trump administration’s claims of rampant crime have been sharply disputed by local officials. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, pushed back at a Monday news conference, stating, “We don’t have any authority over the D.C. Guard or any other guards, but I think it makes the point that this is not about D.C. crime. The focus should be on violent crime. Nobody is against focusing on driving down any level of violence. And so if this is really about immigration enforcement the administration should make that plain.”
Statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department show that violent crime in Washington, D.C., is actually down 26% so far in 2025 compared to the previous year, a point repeatedly highlighted by city officials and local residents. Some, like resident Sia Li Wright, expressed skepticism about the deployment’s purpose and impact. “We should be focusing on protecting people who need protecting, and I feel like we should be using this energy towards something else that will be more impactful,” Wright told NBC News.
Opponents of the federal intervention, including Mayor Bowser, have also raised concerns about the conduct of some federal agents. In several high-profile incidents, agents have made arrests while wearing masks that obscure their identities and have declined to identify themselves to media or the public. “It’s very important to us that agents be identified,” Bowser said. “There’s no reason for a law enforcement official to be masked.”
The deployment and federal presence have not gone unnoticed by D.C. residents. On August 16, hundreds of protesters gathered in Dupont Circle and marched to the White House, voicing their opposition to what they see as an overreach by the Trump administration. Many residents and city officials argue that the situation on the ground does not warrant such a sweeping federal response, especially given the reported decline in violent crime.
This is not the first time Governor Reeves has sent Mississippi National Guard troops outside the state in response to a Republican-led federal initiative. In 2023, he mobilized a National Guard unit to assist with security at the U.S. border with Mexico, following a similar deployment by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The pattern of Republican-led states supporting federal crackdowns—whether at the border or in the nation’s capital—has become a defining feature of recent years.
Yet, the political and legal implications of this latest deployment are significant. The executive order’s call for local police to cooperate with federal agents on immigration enforcement directly challenges D.C.’s sanctuary city policies, setting up a potential clash between city and federal authorities. The move also raises questions about the limits of federal power over local law enforcement and the autonomy of the District of Columbia, which lacks the same level of self-governance as states.
For supporters of the crackdown, the deployment is a necessary response to what they see as out-of-control crime and ineffective local leadership. For critics, it represents an unnecessary and politically motivated intervention that undermines local authority and civil liberties.
As the debate continues, the streets of Washington, D.C., have become a stage for a larger national conversation about crime, federalism, and the balance of power between local and federal governments. With more National Guard troops arriving and federal agents maintaining a visible presence, the city’s residents—and the country—are watching closely to see what comes next.
In the midst of this standoff, one thing is clear: Washington, D.C., has become the latest battleground in a broader struggle over public safety, governance, and the role of the federal government in American cities.
