WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 11 that he will activate hundreds of National Guard troops to be in the nation’s capital to deal with the issue of crime.
“This is Liberation Day in D.C. and we’re going to take our Capitol back,” Trump said at a press conference. “We’re taking it back under the authorities vested in me as the president of the United States.”
Trump invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, which puts control of the Metropolitan Police Department under the president for 48 hours.
The National Guard troops would not have the authority to arrest people, though they can detain people until law enforcement arrives….