Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that 68 people were arrested in Washington, D.C., overnight as the National Guard and federal officers continue to patrol the streets of the U.S. capital.
The arrests included homicide suspects and drug traffickers, while 15 illegal firearms were also seized, Bondi said on Sunday afternoon. That brings the total number of arrests since President Donald Trump declared a “crime emergency” in the district to over 300, nearly half of which are immigration-related.
Bondi’s update came as law enforcement operations are likely to ramp up in Washington.
On Saturday, three Republican governors announced the deployment of their National Guard troops to the capital in support of Trump’s crackdown on violent crime.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) ordered 300 to 400 of his National Guard troops to Washington, who will be “providing mission-essential equipment and specialized training.”
Govs. Henry McMaster (R-SC) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) quickly followed suit, deploying 200 and 150 troops, respectively.
That means well over 1,000 National Guard troops will be in Washington after Trump previously deployed 800 from the D.C. National Guard.
Despite the surge of troops designed to stamp out crime in the city, the National Guard’s role in the enforcement operations has so far been limited, as troops are not making arrests and are unarmed.
OHIO AND SOUTH CAROLINA DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD TO DC
That may be changing soon, however.
A report from the Wall Street Journal on Saturday revealed that the new troops may start carrying weapons in the next few days in what could be a far more active role than they have thus far been assigned.
