The National Guard troops deployed in Washington, D.C., will now carry firearms, following a new order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth’s order comes after President Donald Trump’s August 11 decision to direct 800 Army and Air National Guard troops to the nation’s capital as part of the “Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” rankling D.C. locals who flooded the streets in protest, much to the White House’s ire.

Trump first sounded the alarm over an alleged “crime emergency” after the carjacking of 19-year-old former DOGE staffer Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, who was allegedly beaten bloody in D.C.’s Logan Circle by two 15-year-olds.

The D.C. troops “will soon be on mission with their service-issued weapons, consistent with their mission and training,” an official at the Departme

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