Three more Republican governors have sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., joining President Donald Trump's operation in the capital. Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana have now announced deployments, bringing the total to more than 1,100 troops from six states. D.C.
Ohio, West Virginia and South Carolina had already committed troops to the mission.
The governors who are sending troops say they reserve the right to call them back if they are needed in their home states due to natural disasters or other emergencies.
President Trump addressed the deployment while taking questions at the White House.
"We have a thing going on right now in D.C. We went from the most unsafe place anywhere to a place that now people, friends are calling me up, Democrats are calling me up, and they're saying 'Sir, I want to thank you. My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years. And Washington, D.C. is safe, and you did that in four days.'"
Mayor Muriel Bowser questioned the operation's purpose, suggesting it is more about immigration enforcement than reducing crime.
"This doesn't make sense. You know it doesn't make sense. The numbers on the ground in the district don't support a thousand people from other states coming to Washington D.C. You know that," she said.
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Public data on crime rates contradicts the president's narrative of a "rampant" threat in D.C.
Justice Department statistics show violent crime in the city is actually at a 30-year low. Data from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. shows violent crime is down about 26% so far this year when compared to the same time last year.
Other federal agencies also show an increased presence around the city, including Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who have conducted a number of arrests of undocumented immigrants and seized firearms.
