WASHINGTON (AP) — Soldiers and airmen stood in the back of a black minivan, armed with black garbage bags and red-handled garbage picks, and headed to the park surrounding the recreation center.
It was the 119th beautification project for a National Guard detachment in the nation’s capital since it was called up in August as part of President Donald Trump’s policy. Federal law enforcement intervention. Their work includes cleaning up graffiti in parks, picking up trash, and renovating recreation centers. There are plans to support school reading programs in often overlooked areas of the city.
hundreds of National Guard soldiers still deployed in cities Although sometimes armed, some residents are disturbed by what they see as a sign of the president’s law enforcement overreach. And while there is deep distrust about the motivations for the overall deployment, some view the Washington Guard’s focus on community improvement efforts, especially local units, with some approval.
“I’m glad they’re helping,” said Sabir Abdul, 68, a resident who regularly cleans up trash and debris from the park around the Fort Stevens Recreation Center in Northwest Washington, D.C. “They have lives, but right now they’re here and they’re helping us.”
Mixed feelings about the Guard deployment have forced local officials to balance opposition to what they see as a gross violation of the city’s already limited autonomy with the recognition that the district could at least use the support that a detachment of the D.C. National Guard has been providing.
Lawsuit filed by D.C. Attorney General A lawsuit challenging the deployment is scheduled to be heard Friday as part of a series of legal actions in multiple cities that are facing intervention from federal law enforcement.
D.C.’s Guard deployment is one of several across the country
Hundreds of National Guard troops have been stationed in Washington, D.C., since President Trump issued an emergency order in August. crime fighting mission This included the federal government’s takeover of local police departments. order Expired last monthBut about 2,000 National Guard troops from Washington, D.C. and eight states remain in the city, with most troops planning to leave by the end of November.
Troops are well established in the city, patrolling subway stations and neighborhoods, and supporting other federal law enforcement operations. The operation has led to hundreds of arrests and caused fear in many communities, especially among immigrants. Trump, a Republican, has praised the campaign for reducing crime rates that were already falling.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is a Democrat whose city budget and laws are determined by Congress. walked a fine line Should we appease Trump or push back on the deployment? While she acknowledged the campaign helped deter crime, she argued that sending the National Guard out of state was not an “efficient use of resources.”
In briefs recently filed in the Washington, D.C., lawsuit, Attorney General Brian Schwalb argued that the Guard troops were acting “as a federal military police force.” The document also showed there are plans for the D.C. Guard to remain in the city until at least next summer.
For some people, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
grappling with mixed feelings about the security guard
In the 8th ward located in Historic but underserved areas In neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, local officials responded to a call from the D.C. Guard to help improve the area, despite outright opposition to the presence of armed National Guard troops in the city.
Joseph Johnson of the Advisory Neighborhood Council said units from local security forces have visited the ward multiple times and “assisted where help is needed,” including cleaning around schools and some areas in the Anacostia area. Community members have seen that “these are people just like us. They live in our communities, for the most part.”
Local officials are grappling with whether they can separate the support provided by local forces from the Trump administration’s growing threat to put uniformed troops on the streets of American cities. Others simply do not approve of supporting local police beautification efforts, fearing that this could be seen as tacit support for President Trump’s use of federal troops to support law enforcement operations.
“Trump is testing the system to see how far it can actually go,” Johnson said.
The D.C. Guard, commanded by the president, is focused on quality-of-life issues in the city because many of its troops are from the communities in which it currently operates, said Brig. Gen. Brig., interim commander of the D.C. Guard. General Leland Blanchard II.
Blanchard said the deployment would continue “until the president decides it’s time to do something different.”
“We really want to continue our partnership with our own city, our own people here in the District of Columbia,” he told The Associated Press.
City parks embody tensions over guards
In the diverse Shepherd Park neighborhood, news of Gardaí arriving to clean up the area sparked a storm of outcry on local social media groups. Neighborhood Commissioner Paula Edwards was forced to explain that local officials had not invited them.
“We feel that their presence is frightening to many voters,” Edwards said in an interview. She said the situation was complicated by security personnel following orders. She also said D.C. Guard members are aware of the city’s nuances and characteristics, which sets them apart from other state contingents. Attitudes from people in her community ranged from “let’s have the military clean up the park” to people trying to shame the military, she said.
Edwards said he would be happy to see the Guard under other circumstances, but “only after this deployment is over.”
Valencia Mohamed, who heads the local tenant association, said she had asked security guards to help with the cleanup. She just wanted to keep the park clean, including dangerous things that could harm children. Mohamed, 74, said he and other elderly residents usually clean the park.
She said she believes local officials are opposing the Guard’s cleanup efforts because they “don’t want to seem like they’re supporting President Trump’s efforts, even though it’s good for the community.”
“I just wanted to beautify the park,” she said. “That’s something no committee member has ever done.”
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Follow AP coverage of the District of Columbia at: https://apnews.com/hub/district-of-columbia.
