DC residents debate safety gains a year into Trump’s Guard deployment

Published 11 August 2026 · us

Mixed reactions persist in Washington, DC, a year after Trump deployed the Guard to address crime concerns. Washington, DC – A year after United States

Mixed reactions persist in Washington, DC, a year after Trump deployed the Guard to address crime concerns. Washington, DC – A year after United States President Donald Trump deployed the Guard to Washington, DC, opinions are mixed among residents, politicians and experts about the mission’s success. Thousands of troops were deployed to DC in August 2025 as part of Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force after he declared a crime emergency in the city. The arrival of the soldiers triggered immediate opposition from many DC residents, with protests throughout the year. The advocacy group Free DC organised 11 days of demonstrations culminating in a protest outside the White House on Tuesday against what the group calls a “hostile military occupation”. “I think Trump should go ahead and let them go home,” Ybonne Coles, a 60-year-old restaurant worker who was born and raised in the capital, said on a hot August day in Farragut Square as several soldiers patrolled nearby. “They ain’t doing nothing but walking,” said Coles. “That money could go towards organisations to help people that really need help.” The deployment has also faced resistance from legal officials, who have questioned its constitutionality. On September 4, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump administration over the deployment, which the lawsuit claimed was an illegal use of military force for law enforcement purposes in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. US District Judge Jia Cobb ruled to end the deployment on November 20, but a federal appeals court later granted the administration’s request for a stay on the order as litigation continues. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, whose administration Trump blamed for what he described as soaring crime rates, similarly criticised the legality of the deployment.

“We use the Guard to respond to emergencies. We use the Guard for large-scale events. We do not use the Guard to police our local laws,” Bowser said at a DC conference in October. As the deployment approached its one-year mark, federal officials announced a “summer surge” of Guard troops in advance of the 250th anniversary celebrations in the capital, requesting an additional 1,500 troops. ‘Peaceful and tranquil’ Not everyone opposes the Guard’s presence. Aaron Taslitz, a 30-year-old teacher who also works as a bike courier in DC, said that, though he would prefer that military resources be used on something more urgent than roaming the streets of the capital, he does feel safer with them around. “For the most part, they’ve kept things peaceful and tranquil here,” he said, as he took a break from his morning bike ride in Dupont Circle. Trump has often railed against DC, calling it “one of the most unsafe cities anywhere in the world” and claiming that since the Guard was brought in, crime has dropped by 88 percent. However, the precise impact of the Guard’s presence on crime in Washington, DC, remains unclear. A report from the Niskanen Center in May found that the deployment has had no significant impact on violent crime, which has been in consistent decline in the district over the past few years. Although the report found notable reductions in property crimes, it showed a limited impact of the troop presence on “opportunistic” crimes. “They’re not trained police officers,” explained Richard Hahn, a co-author of the report. “The best thing a Guard member can be, in terms of a crime deterrent, is a sentinel.” Troop patrol zones have also concentrated in “high-traffic” areas, including tourist hubs like the Mall and Union Station.