National Guard troops stationed in Washington, D.C. will be carrying their service weapons going forward, according to an August 24 article from NBC News. Most will be carrying their M17 service-issued pistol, some will also be carrying their M4 service-issued rifle; however, those performing what a National Guard spokesman called “beautification” tasks will most likely not be armed, reported NBC.
This appears to be a continuation of recent pushes from President Donald Trump’s administration to see how far its realm of authority can be stretched. Trump has openly suggested in press conferences and interviews his desire to send national guard troops to the cities of Chicago and Baltimore, antagonizing Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Maryland Governor Wes Moore all the while.
We now have scenes of military police officers walking the streets of D.C., performing duties in a role that is squarely illegal and completely ignores the Posse Comitatus Act that bars the use of the U.S. military for domestic policy.
What I find most disturbing about this trend of authoritarian action is the silence that is coming from the Democratic representatives, especially Maggie Goodlander, representative for N.H. – House district 2. Goodlander voted for House Resolution 488, which has come to be known online as the “Gratitude towards Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)” bill. This is all the while ICE has been pushed to deport 3,000 people a day by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller in a Fox News interview, according to a May 29 article from The Hill. Goodlander has also been notable in her vote to table the articles of impeachment introduced against Trump and her tepid response to the illegal bombing campaign of the Iranian nuclear program, where her chief complaint was congress not being briefed.
The accuracy of the ICE raids that have been ramping up is questionable at best, with allegations coming out almost daily of people that have been wrongly detained. Trump’s installment of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines in Los Angeles appears to have been a test to see what he can get away with. As our politicians, such as Goodlander, continue to derelict their duty to speak out against Trump’s authoritarian power grabs, soon D.C. and LA will not be the only cities. The boomerang of imperialism came to bite us; first it was Firdos Square in Baghdad, Iraq, next it was Kabul, Afghanistan and now it is Union Square in D.C. If Trump gets his way soon there could be a National Guard detail coming to a city near you; maybe they will have their M4 on them, or their M17. Either way, they are gonna party like it is 2003 and they are going to beautify your city, whether you like it or not.
Timothy Fitzpatrick can be contacted at
tfitzpatrick@kscequinox.com
