The US president wants to take over the city’s police department to curb what he calls a crime and homelessness emergency in the capital
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey is deploying 300 to 400 National Guard troops to the District of Columbia at the request of the Trump administration, the governor’s office said on Saturday.
The deployment is “a show of commitment to public safety and regional cooperation” and will include providing equipment and specialised training alongside the “approximately 300 to 400 skilled personnel as directed”, Morrisey’s office said in a statement.
Drew Galang, a spokesman for Morrisey, said the state’s National Guard received the order to send equipment and personnel to Washington late on Friday and was working to organise the deployment.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said he was deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington and temporarily taking over the city’s police department to curb what he depicted as a crime and homelessness emergency in the nation’s capital.
