U.S. National Guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington D.C. as part of what President Donald Trump said was his crackdown on crime will begin carrying weapons on Sunday night, two officials said,
Reuters reports.
The exact number of troops who would carry their weapons was fluid, but they will either carry their M17 pistols or M4 rifles, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Hundreds of unarmed National Guard troops have been in Washington's streets for the past two weeks after Trump declared a crime emergency in the district. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week authorized the troops to carry weapons.
The Guard's Joint Task Force-DC said in a written statement on Sunday that its personnel would only use force "as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm."
Meanwhile, Trump, a Republican, has said he would probably expand his crime crackdown to Chicago, intervening in another city governed by Democrats. And on Sunday he suggested the possibility of deploying troops to Democratic-run Baltimore in Maryland.
Democratic House of Representatives Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Sunday that Trump did not have the authority to deploy troops to Chicago as the Pentagon carried out initial planning for a possible deployment.
U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there had been initial planning at the Pentagon about what a deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago would look like.
One official said the plans were part of the military's efforts to anticipate any requests by Trump and noted senior Pentagon officials have not yet been briefed on them. It is not uncommon for the Pentagon to plan for potential deployments before formal orders are given.
Jeffries said any move to deploy troops to Chicago was an attempt by Trump to manufacture a crisis. Crime, including murders, has declined in Chicago in the last year.
