Demonstrators on Saturday.Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/AP
Thousands of people took to the streets of Washington, DC, on Saturday to voice opposition to Donald Trump’s armed federal intervention in the city.
The demonstration, organized by a coalition of local activist groups and unions, demands the “immediate withdrawal” of federal troops from Washington and an end to Trump’s federalization of the city’s own police department.
Ever since Trump claimed a “crime emergency” in Washington on August 8, he has flooded the city with federal assets. When it comes to the National Guard, according to my colleague Schuyler Mitchell, experts “estimate that the DC deployment is costing roughly $1 million a day.”
“So far,” she wrote on Tuesday, “their work has not gone exactly as planned. Last week, soldiers deployed to fight a ‘crime emergency‘ instead found themselves completing ‘beautification’ duties on Capitol Hill and patrolling Krispy Kremes. Users on the r/NationalGuard subreddit were quick to give their colleagues a new nickname: National Guardeners.”
One guard member complained to Mitchell that the administration “see us as little toy soldiers to put on the street,” and that domestic deployments were damaging recruiting efforts. “We are losing candidates left and right,” the soldier said. “Certainly, people are watching this and making decisions—not only to not join, but plenty of people within our ranks who are pushing toward retirement are deciding they’re done, and they are leaving before it gets too bad.”
