All 800 National Guard troops sent by Donald Trump to the capital Washington to assist law enforcement officers have now been mobilized, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Trump ordered the deployment of troops as part of what he described as a fight against crime in the capital, where violent crime has actually declined.

"As of today, all 800 Army and Air National Guard troops have been mobilized... as part of the Joint Task Force in Washington and are now here in our nation's capital," Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson told reporters.

They "will assist the Washington Metropolitan Police Department and federal law enforcement partners with monument security, community safety patrols, protection of federal facilities and personnel," and traffic control posts, Wilson explained. The troops "will remain until law and order are restored in the district, as determined by the president," she added.

On August 10, Trump announced the deployment of the National Guard and federal takeover of the city's police department, vowing to "take back the capital." The predominantly Democratic US capital has faced accusations from Republican politicians that it is awash with crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.

But Washington police data show a significant decline in violent crime between 2023 and 2024.

The deployment of troops in Washington came after Trump sent the National Guard and Marines to quell unrest in Los Angeles sparked by immigration raids.

This was the first time since 1965 that a US president had deployed the National Guard against the wishes of a state governor.

Most National Guard forces report to state governors and must be "federalized" to be placed under presidential control, but in Washington, these troops now report only to the US president. | BGNES, AFP