Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said sending troops from other states, “doesn’t make sense,” but she believes the district has little power to stop them.
That got us wondering: How would those governors feel if National Guard troops from other states were ordered onto their streets, perhaps to patrol one of the 53 cities in those states with a higher murder rate than Washington’s? After all, if D.C. is in the throes of a crime emergency worthy of a militarized response — and you have no concerns that response might backfire — then why aren’t the good people of Jackson, Mississippi or North Charleston, South Carolina?
So, we asked them.
Spokespeople for Governors Jeff Landry (Louisiana), Tate Reeves (Mississippi), Henry McMaster (South Carolina), Bill Lee (Tennessee), and Patrick Morrisey (West Virginia) did not respond to our request for comment.
Dan Tierney, a spokesperson for Gov. Mike DeWine (Ohio), sent the following statement:
“Ohio has traditionally helped the District of Columbia, Ohio mayors, and other states when they request assistance from the Ohio National Guard or the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Ohio has provided National Guard before to assist the District of Columbia with the inaugurations of both Donald Trump (R) and Joe Biden (D) as well as during the George Floyd protests,” Tierney wrote. “The National Guard was provided to Columbus and Cleveland in response to requests from Mayors Andrew Ginther (D) and Frank Jackson (D) during the same George Floyd Protests. The National Guard was also provided to help with natural disaster assistance to requests from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D), and Louisiana Governor Jonathan Bel Edwards (D). We also believe Ohio was the only state to provide law enforcement officers, through the Ohio State Highway Patrol, to assist with the George Floyd/Derek Chauvin murder trial verdict through a request from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D).”
According to a Democracy Docket analysis of the FBI’s Crime in the United States Annual Report, using Offenses Known to Law Enforcement, by State by City in 2024, 53 cities across Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia had higher murder rates than D.C. in 2024.
And unlike when National Guardsmen assist in natural disaster recovery, these deployments are now facing legal challenges. The ACLU of West Virginia filed suit in state court Thursday to block Morrisey from sending 300-400 Guard members to D.C., arguing the deployment exceeds the governor’s constitutional and statutory authority.
Fucking good. Can citizens get in on suing the state/Governor? Asking for a friend.
Back all that with a STRONGLY worded letter and he'll surely come round.