For over two weeks, members of the National Guard have been walking the streets of Washington, D.C., alongside federal law enforcement and local police.

And as of a few days ago, the more than 2,000 National Guard troops in D.C. were authorized to carry weapons.

Breaking overnight, members of the National Guard now carrying weapons on patrol in Washington, D.C., the move

marking a major escalation. It's all part of a federal crackdown on what President Trump

calls a, quote, crime emergency in the nation's capital. He's only escalated that rhetoric over the last

two weeks. On Tuesday, he called for the death penalty for those who commit murder in Washington.

Many residents in D.C., where there hasn't been an execution in over half a century, aren't buying it.

I think that he wants to destroy the Democratic Party. He knows that he can go into these cities that runs by a Democrat and control it and say, hey, we don't need Democrats.

They're not doing an effective job.

Justina Wilkins-Jordan lives in D.C.'s-Dinwood neighborhood, where she says she does hear of

shootings, violent fights, and drug transactions, and she would like to see more law enforcement

on the streets.

But she has not seen any federal officers in her neighborhood

and doesn't trust the president's motives here.

She spoke to NPR's Frank Langford.

If President Trump were sitting in this chair right now,

what would you tell him?

I would say, President Trump, sit down and listen. It's not all

about you and the Republicans. You can't control the world. I feel that right now, the reason

why he's doing it, because he definitely want to be a dictator. Now, crime obviously does occur in

Washington, D.C., but recent Justice Department statistics show that violent crime in the city hit a three-decade low in 2024.

Ryan Wong, who lives in the city's U.S. Street neighborhood, says this summer doesn't feel any more violent or more dangerous than any other summer.

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