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.

President Donald Trump said he is still prepared to order National Guard troops to other American cities but that he wanted local officials to request his help.

National Guard troops on duty in President Trump’s crackdown in Washington, D.C., began carrying weapons in the capital Sunday evening, according to a spokesman for the National Guard task force. Several members of the Guard from South Carolina were seen late Sunday outside Washington’s Union Station with firearms holstered to their hips.