Pentagon says every national guard troop deployed in Washington DC ‘is now armed’

The Pentagon said Tuesday that every national guard troop deployed in Washington DC will now be armed with live weapons, and have begun conducting joint patrols with the local police department.

“I can confirm that everybody in DC is now armed, and a lot of our DC national guardsmen are now also doing joint patrols with members of the police department here in DC,” said Kingsley Wilson, the department’s press secretary, at a press conference.

The directivefollows the ambush shooting of two guard members near the White House last week, an incident that has prompted the Trump administration to order hundreds of additional troops to the city. One of the national guard members has since died from her injuries.

The Washington Post first obtained an email about the joint patrol with the city’s Metropolitan police department last week.

Wilson framed the expanded military role as a response to an “urgent threat” facing American cities. “Our mission set is critical,” Wilson said. “We are keeping American cities safe all across this country, and we are going to remain committed to that. These missions aren’t going to stop in Chicago, in Los Angeles, in DC.”

The move to arm all 2,375 estimated troops currently in the capital – with an additional 500 ordered last week – marks a significant shift in the rules of engagement for domestic military deployments.

Although all soldiers in the army national guard complete basic combat training, which includes qualification with standard-issue rifles and sidearms, their ongoing weapons proficiency and tactical training vary widely depending on their military occupational specialty. The guard is organized into “combat-arms”, “combat support”, and “combat service support” units, and many guard units perform in the support role, which make carrying live weapons for domestic use a clear risk for potential escalation.

The escalation also comes as a recent order finding the national guard deployment in Washington DC unlawful is on hold, pending consideration of the Trump administration’s appeal.

The Joint Task Force in DC, which oversees the national guard’s deployment in the capital, told the Guardian: “Every service member is trained and qualified on their assigned weapon in accordance with Department of War standards.”

“National guard members supporting this mission have been armed with their assigned duty weapons since August 2025, in support of civil authorities and at the request of the lead federal agency,” a JTF-DC spokesperson said. “Their posture is consistent with their mission requirements, established rules for the use of force, and the training each guardsman receives to safely and professionally carry out their duties.”

While Wilson emphasized that “safety is, of course, top of mind”, the rapid arming of all reservists in DC for street-level policing brings up questions regarding training and readiness to engage in civil law enforcement.

The shooting last Wednesday near the Farragut West metro station was blocks from the White House, and resulted in the killing of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom. A second guard member, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition.

​The suspect, identified by the department of homeland security as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was also shot during the incident and is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries and is now facing upgraded first-degree murder charges. Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who served in Afghanistan’s CIA-backed army Zero Unit, entered the US in 2021 following the American withdrawal from Afghanistan under Operation Allies Welcome.

​The Trump administration has seized Lakanwal’s ethnic background to launch a sweeping review of immigration policies. In the hours following the shooting, US citizenship and immigration services indefinitely suspended the processing of immigration requests for Afghan nationals. DHS has since said it is expanding its review to include all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration, though it remains unclear if this targets specific nationalities beyond Afghanistan.

​The military deployment in Washington has been a fixture in the capital since August, when the Trump administration declared a “crime emergency” in an executive order.

​“The national guard is proud to step in alongside our law enforcement partners,” Wilson said on Tuesday.