What is national guard?

The National Guard appeared in only 1.3% of DC criminal matters (217 of roughly 17,000 cases) in the year after deployment, despite thousands of troops sent.

“The National Guard made an appearance in one form or another in 1.3% of the criminal matters that were handled in DC in the year since they arrived. So that's 217 cases out of I think about 17,000 that we were counting at the time.”

The Trump administration requested close to $1.5 billion to keep National Guard soldiers in DC through the end of Trump's second term.

“The administration most recently said, you know, they need close to $1.5 billion dollars to keep soldiers in DC through the end of President Trump's second term.”

Benjamin Wittes on the Guard's geographic mismatch with DC crime.

“The census tracks where they were not is where 82% of the DC murders happen, right?”

The National Guard deployment in DC peaked at close to 5,000 troops, considerably outnumbering DC's sworn police officers.

“Around the summertime, we got up north of 4600 troops, like close to 5,000. So, these soldiers outnumber the sworn officers on DC's police department like considerably.”

82% of DC murders occur in census tracts where the National Guard is not deployed.

“The census tracks where they were not is where 82% of the DC murders happen, right?”

Baltimore achieved record-low homicides and a large crime decrease without a federal surge, and actually had resources pulled away to DC, undermining the causal case that the DC Guard surge drove DC crime reductions.

“Baltimore, which has not had a federal surge and in some sense has had like federal resources withdrawn from the city to bring them to DC, is also experiencing kind of record low homicides and a huge decrease in crime.”

National Guard soldiers are deputized as U.S. Marshals, so any assault on them is charged as assault on a police officer, giving routine street incidents federal law-enforcement weight.

“They tend to be charged as an assault on a police officer because my understanding now is if not all of the soldiers on the street, at least a large number of them are deputized as US marshals.”

Benjamin Wittes on the Guard's combat-only training versus street policing tasks.

“They do have training, but it's more combat training. It's not, you know, go stop shoplifterss, go stop fair jumpers.”

Governor Gretchen Whitmer recalled Michigan's National Guard from DC, signaling that states can and will resist federal repurposing of Guard deployments beyond stated missions. A precedent worth tracking as America 250 events expand.

“Governor Whitmer actually had, I believe, called back her National Guard deployment that was supposed to be there only for America 250 to help with crowds and she had the sense that they were being used for broader purposes than that.”

The National Guard deployment in DC costs more than DC's police department on a daily basis.

“They cost more than DC's police department considerably on a daily basis.”