DC Residents Protest Trump’s National Guard Deployment

Demonstrators attend the "We Are All DC" march to protest against the National Guard troops, near the US Capitol Building, in Washington, DC, US, September 6, 2025.

Several thousand protesters marched in Washington, DC, on Saturday demanding that US President Donald Trump end the deployment of National Guard troops patrolling the capital’s streets.

The “We Are All DC” march included undocumented immigrants and supporters of Palestinian statehood, who carried posters reading “Trump Must Go Now,” “Free DC” and “Resist Tyranny.”

“I’m here to protest the occupation of DC,” said Alex Laufer. “We’re opposing the authoritarian regime, and we need to get the federal police and National Guard off our streets.”

Trump deployed the troops last month, claiming crime plagued the city and vowing to restore law and order. He also placed the Metropolitan Police under direct federal control and sent federal law enforcement, including ICE agents, into the city — actions critics denounced as federal overreach.

However, Justice Department data shows violent crime in 2024 fell to a 30-year low in Washington.

More than 2,000 troops, including units from six Republican-led states, now patrol the city. Their mission has been extended through November 30.

Washington, DC, Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit to block the troop deployment, calling it unconstitutional and unlawful. Mayor Muriel Bowser praised the presence of federal law enforcement but expressed hope that the National Guard mission would end soon.

Some residents supported the deployment, particularly in high-crime neighbourhoods, while others condemned it as authoritarian.

Trump also threatened to send the National Guard to Chicago, posting on Truth Social: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” alongside an AI-generated image of himself in military uniform, parodying the film Apocalypse Now.