The shift comes after defense officials said the soldiers deployed to the capital wouldn’t be armed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of the West Virginia National Guard will be deployed the streets of the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration’s effort to overhaul policing in the District of Columbia through a federal crackdown on crime and ...

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, who has denied crime is out of control in her city, described the troop deployment as an "authoritarian push". Trump, a Republican, has also threatened similar deployments against New York and Chicago, two other Democratic-controlled cities.

The influx came the morning after the Republican president announced he would be activating the guard members and taking over the District’s police department, something the law allows him to do temporarily.

The move by West Virginia comes as hundreds of District of Columbia National Guard were activated this week to back up local law enforcement.

It was the first such action by the Guard since its deployment in Washington.

CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - Whether on land, in the air or on water, Guard members train to adapt to any mission. The Washington Army National Guard Soldiers