Trump threatens to send troops to 'clean up' crime in Baltimore.

National Guard troops have begun patrolling the United States capital at the direction of President Donald Trump, the military said Sunday.

“Effective late on the evening of August 24, 2025, [Joint Task Force-DC] service members began carrying their service-issued weapons,” the Joint Task Force-DC said in a statement.

The statement said troops are authorized to use force only “as a last resort and in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.”

The National Guard will carry either M17 pistols or M4 rifles, the unnamed officials told Reuters.

The announcement came after Trump claimed Sunday, without evidence, that there was “no crime and no murder!” in DC, a week after he deployed troops there.

In the same post on Truth Social, Trump said he could “send the military” to neighboring Baltimore, which he called “out of control” and “infested with crime.”

Responding to an invitation from Maryland Governor Wes Moore to visit Baltimore and walk its streets, Trump said: “I would much rather they clean up this crime mess before they go there for a ‘walk.’”

However, according to the Baltimore Police Department, gun violence in July was down by double digits compared to last year. According to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, the city has had 84 homicides so far this year – the fewest in more than 50 years.

In Washington, D.C., which has a population of just over 700,000, thousands of National Guard and federal law enforcement officers are now patrolling the streets.

At Trump’s request, some Republican governors have sent hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., which the president has portrayed as struggling with a crime wave, even though official figures show the city has low crime rates.

Because Washington, D.C., is not a state, the president has the authority to take over policing in the capital for up to 30 days.

Many residents have long advocated for the district to become a state. However, Democrats have not pursued statehood efforts further after a bill passed in 2020 through the then-Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Illinois’ Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker, on Sunday rejected Trump’s call to send troops to Chicago.

“Donald Trump continues to abuse his power to create a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and distract from the suffering of working families,” Pritzker said in a statement.