The Trump administration’s crackdown on crime in the District of Columbia proceeds apace. As we noted on Saturday, hundreds of goblins have been swept from the streets of our national capital, homeless encampments are being reduced, and the great state of West Virginia sent hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington to help the D.C. National Guard support municipal and federal law enforcement.
On Sunday, two more states, Ohio and South Carolina, announced they are activating even more National Guard troops and sending them into the effort.
The National Guard’s presence in Washington will grow in the coming days after the governors of West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio announced on Saturday that they would send troops from their states’ National Guard at President Trump’s request.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia said the state would send 300 to 400 troops to Washington to support Mr. Trump’s “initiative to restore cleanliness and safety to Washington, D.C.” Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina also pledged to send 200 troops from his state’s National Guard, saying “South Carolina is proud to stand with President Trump as he works to restore law and order to our nation’s capital.” And Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said 150 members of his state’s National Guard would arrive in the capital in “the coming days.” All three governors are Republicans.
Democrats across the nation are decrying the Trump administration’s efforts to get the nation’s capital back under control, but the message from the Trump administration and these three red state governors appears to be very blunt: “This is happening. Get used to it.” The number of National Guard troops arriving from Ohio and South Carolina will more or less double the number of National Guard troops deployed to the District.
More sandwiches will likely be thrown.
Read More: Getting Results: Trump’s D.C. Cleanup Busts Hundreds of Bad Guys, Nets Over Two Dozen Illegal Guns
New: The Crackdown Continues: Hundreds of West Virginia National Guard Members Ordered to D.C.
The National Guard troops are, for the time being, unarmed.
National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C., remain unarmed as of Sunday, but Defense officials said that could change if the Guard is given different orders, particularly as their footprint is expected to grow.
Whether troops are armed will depend upon their mission, the officials said.
The National Guard is there, as we’ve noted, to provide logistical and training support, for now. But if they are armed, at some later point? What will their rules of engagement be? That’s an interesting question indeed. Under what circumstances will they be allowed to use force? If a criminal shoots at them, will they be authorized to return fire? We can hope that, at a minimum, these troops, who are trained in managing civil unrest, would be expected to defend themselves and to defend any innocent bystanders.
From what we’ve seen so far, the efforts are working. Goblins are being taken off the streets. Illegal weapons are being confiscated. The parks and public spaces are being cleaned up, including the removal of the sprawling Bidenville homeless enclaves and the removal of graffiti.
Democrats, of course, are resisting this cleanup of the nation’s capital every step of the way. Look for this to be an albatross around the necks of national Democrats in next year’s midterms, especially if the District is transformed into what it should be: A city worthy to be the capital of the greatest nation on earth.
Editor’s Note: The days of lawlessness in Washington, D.C. are over. Thanks to President Trump, our nation’s capital will be SAFE once again.
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