President plots expansion of crime crackdown as Pentagon chief says troops patrolling DC streets will be armed

It was unclear if and when he'd patrol the city's streets like he previously announced.

The Pentagon and the Army said last week that troops would not carry guns.

The Pentagon previously said guard members would not carry firearms – it did not offer any reason for the change.

President plots expansion of crime crackdown as Pentagon chief says troops patrolling DC streets will be armed

Trump has already deployed 800 National Guard troops in Washington DC, declaring a public safety emergency. He is setting his sights now on Chicago.

Trump’s threat coincided with the announcement that military members in Washington, DC, would be armed during patrols.

Donald Trump has suggested he could extend the mission and declare a national emergency.

The Defense Department planning, in the works for weeks, involves several options, including mobilizing at least a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September,…

The Democratic governor of Illinois, which includes Chicago, accused Trump of ‘attempting to manufacture a crisis’.

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is working on plans to deploy the US military to Chicago as President Donald Trump says he is cracking down on crime, homelessness and undocumented…

Trump made the threat in a row with Maryland’s governor, who has criticised Trump’s flex of power aimed at combating crime in Washington.

Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying firearms.

National Guard units in DC armed under Trump's directive, potential expansion to Democratic cities, sparking controversy and protests.

Arming of some troops in US capital is latest escalation as president vows to target other cities led by Black Democrats

Threats to send troops into Chicago and Baltimore come as Washington, DC guards begin carrying arms.

Local officials and activists called the potential federal deployment of troops ‘uncoordinated’ and an ‘authoritarian power grab’.