U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has authorized National Guard troops to carry weapons in Washington. He called the decision “common sense” on social media.
Earlier this week, Governor Tate Reeves responded to President Trump’s request to send more law enforcement support to patrol the streets of the nation’s capital. At least 200 soldiers from the Mississippi National Guard were deployed to Washington to participate in the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.”
Shamira Muhammad
National Guard troops to be armed
Local resident Shirley McClendon says she was disappointed when she heard that Mississippi sent troops.
“I think from what I've heard, the city was doing better in crime and things were going well, pretty much,” she said. “So, I didn't see the need for him to exert that kind of influence on the city of Washington, D.C.”
McClendon says she didn’t believe that Mississippi needed to get involved.
“It's like status quo that Mississippi is Trump-supported and anything that he supports, we tend to support always,” she said. “I would like for us to be more independent in our thoughts.”
In a statement, Governor Tate Reeves says he sent 200 Mississippi soldiers to Washington to “support President Trump’s effort to return law and order to our nation’s capital.
However, crime is also a big issue in Mississippi’s capital. State data shows that violent crime in Hinds County, where Jackson is located, is up more than 300% this year.
Mississippi Democratic Party chairman Cheikh Taylor says the goal of targeting crime especially in Washington DC is misplaced.
“If there was an attempt to decrease crime by Governor Tate Reeves, it probably should have started at home,” he said. “His only obligation is to the state of Mississippi.”
Although Gov. Reeves did not reference his state’s capital in his statement, the importance of Washington as the entire country’s capital city was emphasized.
Mississippi’s Republican Party chairman, Mike Hurst, agrees.
“With every single state in the Union sending representatives and senators there and people from all over the world coming to our nation’s capital, I think it’s imperative that we all pitch in together and make sure that itís safe for not just the citizens, but visitors from around the world,” he said.
Hurst acknowledges that there is high crime in Jackson, but says past city government officials would not do enough to fight it. Jackson’s newly elected mayor, John Horhn, says a law enforcement taskforce is being set up to fight violent crime in the capital city, starting with the FBI and state entities.
“Then it involves local policing,” he said. “Jackson Police Department, Capitol Police, as well as the Sheriff's Department. We're trying to put together a coordinated effort.”
Horhn says he’s not ready to ask for national guard troops in Jackson, although he says a rash of gang violence has been terrorizing neighborhoods.
Mississippi’s only democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson says sending military troops to Washington may not have been the most appropriate choice.
“The greatest need would be to provide resources to D.C.’s government to hire additional personnel, and if necessary, buy the equipment for that personnel,” he said.
Thompson says having militarized units on civilian streets is outside of what the soldiers were trained to do. Six Republican governors, including those from Tennessee and Louisiana, have sent national guard troops to Washington. According to the Associated Press, there have been no obvious threats faced by troops in Washington that would require them to have weapons.