Nearly 2,000 National Guard troops have now been deployed to join President Donald Trump's crackdown on Washington, DC.

The pistols and powerful rifles guard members carry are similar to those local police use across the country. Troops have been told to use their weapons only as a last resort.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo late last week authorizing National Guard troops deployed in Washington, D.C., to carry weapons if their mission requires it. The memo, according to one official, was addressed to the chief of the National Guard Bureau and the Secretary of the Army.