ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp mentioned Friday he’s deploying greater than 300 Georgia Nationwide Guard troops to Washington to assist President Donald Trump’s federal intervention within the nation’s capital amid a widening debate over the usage of the army for native regulation enforcement.
The contingent includes roughly 300 troopers who’re scheduled to mobilize in mid-September. One other 16 assist workers had been dispatched earlier this week, officers mentioned. They may be part of roughly 2,200 Nationwide Guard troops, together with 1,300 from six different GOP-led states.
It’s separate from one other deployment of 75 Georgia Nationwide Guard troopers and airmen who’re assigned to offer “administrative and logistic assist” as a part of Trump’s crackdown on unlawful immigration.
Kemp, who has labored to restore strained ties with the president after years of political pressure, framed the choice as a present of solidarity with Trump’s mission to “make sure the safety and fantastic thing about our nation’s capital.”
“We share a dedication to upholding public security,” he mentioned, “and are grateful to those courageous Guardsmen and girls, for the households that assist them, and for his or her dedication to service above self.”
The rising Guard presence has raised questions on Trump’s use of troops for anti-crime missions. D.C. Legal professional Common Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit this week looking for to dam what he known as a “army occupation” that turned home troops into native police.
The authorized battle comes as Trump pursues broader authority over native policing in Democratic-led cities. Trump has additionally sought to take management of Washington’s police division and threatened to ship Nationwide Guard troops to Chicago and different Democratic-led cities.
And earlier this week, a federal decide dominated that the Trump administration illegally used Nationwide Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles this summer season throughout mass protests in opposition to immigration raids. That ruling solely applies to troops in California, the decide mentioned, not nationwide.
Critics say the president’s actions blur the nation’s long-standing line in opposition to militarizing home regulation enforcement. Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas, who chairs the Democratic Governors Affiliation, has urged GOP governors to “reject the temptation to make use of their troopers to bolster a harmful, politically motivated agenda.”
Kemp has taken a special stance, echoing Trump’s arguments that the mission is about curbing crime within the nation’s capital. He instructed the Atlanta Journal-Structure in a latest interview that he seen such deployments as a part of the Guard’s duties.
“Actually, if we’re requested to try this — we keep in communication with the White Home on points like that — we’ll be glad to speak to him about that mission,” he mentioned of the president, including: “We’re at all times able to serve if wanted.”
‘Break in belief’
Georgia joins at the very least six different Republican-led states — Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and West Virginia — in sending Guard troops to Washington. About 1,000 members of the D.C. Guard are additionally deployed.
Critics level out that the crime charge in DC has declined and that different main cities in GOP-led states have increased charges of violent crime than Washington, but Trump has not threatened federal intervention there.
In Georgia, violent crimes dropped roughly 10.5% in 2024 from the earlier 12 months, in line with FBI information launched in August. That features a 5.1% lower in homicides. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens mentioned crime general is down 8% within the metropolis from 2024.
A critic of the surge of federal regulation enforcement, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has notably softened her stance in latest weeks, praising the Guard troops for serving to result in “an excessive discount in carjackings” and a lower in gun-related crimes.
However Bowser has warned the police takeover has led to a “break in belief” between residents and regulation enforcement, and warned the usage of federal troops infringes on town’s autonomy.
Georgia Nationwide Guard troops have deployed for a spread of missions in recent times, from catastrophe reduction and Covid-19 response to patrols alongside the U.S. border with Mexico and fight excursions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They’ve additionally been dispatched for regulation enforcement initiatives.
In 2020, for instance, they protected state authorities buildings throughout a burst of violence throughout town that left 4 useless. A 12 months later, they secured the state Capitol within the wake of the Jan. 6 rebellion in Washington.
Kemp mentioned he’s assured the Guard can steadiness its duties at house and in Washington.
“As they’ve demonstrated repeatedly, our Georgia Guard is nicely geared up to meet each this mission and its obligations to the individuals of our state.”
—————-
©2025 The Atlanta Journal-Structure. Go to at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content material Company, LLC.
Story Continues
© Copyright 2025 Atlanta Journal-Structure. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
