National Guard troops pulled up in front of the Washington Monument on Aug. 12. They weren't armed then, but they could be soon, Army officials said.

The DC National Guard began appearing in the nation’s capital on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced a day earlier he is deploying guard troops and placing Washington, DC’s police department “under direct federal control,

While it is mostly called to respond to state-level emergencies, the National Guard has also been called to enforce law. The DC National Guard is primarily under federal control.