ACLU D.C., ACLU National, and ACLU Affiliate-wide Letter to the American Public on Urgent Need for National Guard to Leave the Nation’s Capital

WASHINGTON – In a joint letter to Americans across the country, the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.), ACLU National, and ACLU affiliates nationwide today joined together to underscore the need for National Guard troops to be withdrawn from the nation’s capital. Over 4,000 National Guard troops, pulled from 15 states and the District, have patrolled neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., beginning with President Trump’s deployment of the D.C. National Guard in August 2025. Because D.C. is not a state, the president controls the local D.C. National Guard and – along with the secretary of defense – can request that governors make their states’ National Guard forces available for certain federal missions. Governors are free to decline those requests, and many have done so over the past year. National Guard members deployed to support Freedom 250 and associated summer events from six states were scheduled to leave Washington, D.C. by August 31. However, over 300 troops from four states remain. “Armed National Guard troops are neither needed nor wanted in the District. Absent a true emergency, National Guard members should be home in their communities, with their families,” said ACLU-D.C. Executive Director Monica Hopkins. “There is no emergency in D.C. that justifies this continued presence, and we cannot allow armed troops patrolling the streets of our nation’s capital to become normal. The troops need to go home.” For more than a year, D.C residents have encountered National Guard troops not only around federal buildings and major events, but outside homes, schools, and local businesses. In May, ACLU-D.C. filed a legal claim on behalf of Anna King, a combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, who was assaulted by National Guard troops outside her D.C. home. Today’s joint letter to Americans underscores that there is no emergency in the District that requires a continued National Guard troop presence. The letter also warns that deploying troops in the nation’s capital risks normalizing the use of the military against people in the United States. “For over a year, the people of the District of Columbia have been living with troops on their streets without their consent and against their wishes,” said Mike Zamore, national director of policy & government affairs at the ACLU. “These military troops are patrolling the American capital as a flex, in an effort to menace and intimidate us. But we will not be bullied. We must keep speaking up against this blatant abuse of executive power.” “West Virginia has experienced another year of historic and devastating natural disasters. But rather than serving a core mission of disaster relief, many of our National Guard troops are away from home, family, and jobs to patrol our nation’s capital, which does not want, nor has asked for their presence," said ACLU of West Virgina Executive Director Eli Baumwell. The letter also highlights that the harms of the deployments extend well beyond D.C. Estimates indicate that the deployments could cost taxpayers $1.7 billion by the end of 2026. National Guard members have also been pulled away from their civilian jobs, schools, and families, creating disruptions for households and employers and, in some cases, genuine economic hardship. Prolonged deployments can also reduce National Guard members’ availability for other important needs, including natural disaster response. "The decision to bring home Michigan's National Guard troops is both welcome and overdue," said ACLU Of Michigan Executive Director Loren Khogali. "For more than a year, the people of Washington, D.C., have had to endure something that should be unthinkable in this country – the ongoing presence of military troops on their streets. There's no emergency in D.C., and there's no need for troops to be there.” The letter also points to evidence that violent crime in D.C. was already declining before the National Guard deployment and makes clear that the continued military presence is not a response to any emergency. “Residents of our nation’s capital have always been proud to welcome visitors from all over with a smile, not an armed military force,” the letter states. “D.C. is a symbol of our country’s ideals of freedom and democracy, and this is marred by having National Guard troops marching in our streets. The National Guard must return to their home states.”