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Three States to Send National Guard to D.C. as Trump Expands Takeover of City

HeadlineAug 18, 2025

The Trump administration is expanding its takeover of Washington, D.C., with the Republican governors of West Virginia, Ohio and South Carolina agreeing to send at least 700 additional National Guard troops to the city. In a major shift in policy, NPR reports National Guard troops in D.C. may soon be carrying weapons.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has backed down from its plan to install the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as D.C.’s emergency police chief, after the city sued U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

This comes as video has gone viral of six masked federal officers detaining and tackling a food delivery driver after he left a coffee shop in Northwest Washington on Saturday morning. The officers violently tackled the man, Cristian Enrique Carias Torres of Venezuela, to the ground and appeared to use a stun gun on him. He was then taken away in an unmarked car as bystanders screamed at the officers.

On Saturday, thousands of protesters marched to the White House to condemn Trump’s takeover of Washington.

Protesters: “Troops on the corner, feds on the block! Troops on the corner, feds on the block! The fascist takeover must be stopped! The fascist takeover must be stopped!”

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