Eight hundred Air and Army National Guardsmen began their mission in D.C. early Wednesday morning, helping the city’s temporarily federalized police through “monument security, community safety patrols, protecting federal facilities and officers, traffic control posts and area beautification,” Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson told reporters.

That includes presence on the National Mall, Wilson said, though she did not answer questions about the specific crimes the Trump administration believes need to be stamped out near the monuments and museums.

“It's dangerous all around the city,” Wilson said. “I think another important point of having National Guardsmen all around D.C. is that as it is also a deterrent, and it makes people feel safe, and it lets everyone know that D.C. is going

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