Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praises National Guard troops at a Meridian Hill Park ceremony in Washington, DC, while protesters drown speeches with whistles and sirens.The deployment, ordered by President Donald Trump after a public safety emergency declaration last summer and the launch of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force in March 2025, keeps about 4,700 troops in the city.The administration credits the presence with more than 13,100 arrests, 1,400 guns seized, a 60% drop in homicides and a 32% decline in overall crime, though independent analysts question the Guard’s causal role.High-ranking officials including White House Deputy Chief of Staff
Stephen Miller, acting Attorney General
Todd Blanche and
National Guard Bureau Chief
Steven Nordhaus attend as organizers identified as
Free DC call the deployment excessive and illegal.