National Guard Hits D.C. Streets (Photos)

The National Guard was deployed in D.C. on Tuesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Army.

Around a dozen National Guards members deployed near the Washington Monument, according to The New York Times, which reported the Guardsmen refused to answer questions about their mission or how long they would remain on assignment.

Agents made a total of 23 arrests Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, for serious crimes including homicide, possession with intent to distribute narcotics and possession of a high capacity magazine—but also more common crimes, including fare evasion, driving under the influence, and reckless driving.

Forbes was unable to confirm these numbers, though local police separately reported a homicide arrest that they made—the Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

They also made arrests for firearms offenses, Leavitt said, and seized six illegal handguns.

The Trump administration will “reevaluate and reassess” the situation in D.C. after 30 days, the press secretary said—after then, the Home Rule Act of 1973 requires the White House to seek Congressional approval to maintain control over the city’s police force.

Leavitt said only two homeless encampments remained in D.C. after Trump issued an executive order in March aimed at making the city “safe and beautiful.”

Park Police are scheduled to remove the remaining encampments this week, Leavitt said, and people living there would be required to leave for homeless shelters or face “fines and jail time.”

Democratic leaders denounced the takeover—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the takeover a “political ploy and attempted distraction from Trump’s other scandals,” while Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who represents a district bordering the city, called the move in a statement a “phony, manufactured crisis if I’ve ever seen one.”

Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of similar takeovers in cities like Chicago and New York, but Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker brushed off the idea before connecting it to one of the administration’s largest ongoing controversies: “By the way, where are the Epstein files?”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, also a Democrat, called the move “unsettling and unprecedented,” but struck a calmer tone while addressing Washingtonians at a press conference on Monday.

Other mayors from the cities identified by Trump joined in their criticism—Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN it was “very notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the President has a black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee also rejected Trump’s characterization, calling it “wrong and based in fear-mongering in an attempt to score cheap political points” and noting that overall crime was down 28% from last year in the California city.

Some protests have already been organized, and about 150 people rallied near the White House at a rally organized by the Free D.C. group, local station FOX 5 reported.