The governors of West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee have sent National Guard troops to help with what President Donald Trump says is a crime infestation in Washington, D.C.
Add Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to that list.
After completing some in-processing paperwork and processes, our Louisiana National Guard peeps will join National Guard troops from other red states to deal with Trump's federal crime crackdown in the nation’s capital.
Based on recent reports, West Virginia is sending 300 to 400 troops; South Carolina hasn't said how many it will send, but it's guv has authorized sending 200 troops; Mississippi is sending about 200 troops; Tennessee is sending 160 troops and Ohio has committed to deploying 150 troops. Our guv is sending 135 Louisiana National Guard troops.
"We cannot allow our cities to be overcome by violence and lawlessness," our guv posted on the X social media platform. "I am proud to support this mission to return safety and sanity to Washington DC and cities all across our country, including right here in Louisiana.”
The idea of additional help isn't new. On the home front, New Orleans and other Louisiana communities have had law enforcement help from the feds, neighboring parishes and the Louisiana National Guard for years. When there are large enough activities, events, games or festivals, Baton Rouge, Bossier City, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, Shreveport and other cities have requested and received help. As the state's largest single economic driver, New Orleans has far more need for additional help far more often.
In recent years, more than 150 Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office deputies have worked the carnival season, especially the two weeks leading to Mardi Gras. So have about 150 Louisiana State Police officers from across the state and scores of officers from neighboring parishes such as Jefferson Parish and places including Franklin and Natchitoches. Constables, marshals and others have pitched in to help. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has such federal agencies as the ATF and the FBI.
In each of these cases, the New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office have asked for help. Though the federal government is covering the cost to have our National Guard and other troops in D.C., Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser didn't ask Trump for federal intervention. That's like inviting a friend to your home for a casual visit and the friend returning with an army of household cleaners, janitors and window washers because the friend decided that your place needs sprucing up.
Before Trump became president, he talked about the need for federal action in Washington. As Trump issued threats about the need to take over D.C., the mayor stayed mum. Earlier this year, in February, Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One that the federal government should "should take over the governance of D.C.” He raised the stakes in recent months and made his first move earlier this month. Bowser spoke up, calling the action "unsettling." More recently, she has called the move "un-American," in part because federalized troops are patrolling an American city's streets as if there's a war or a major crime problem.
As if it's reasonable to compare cities abroad to Washington, Trump cited crime in other places as a good reason to attack a nonexistent problem in D.C. "The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogotá, Colombia, Mexico City, some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth,” the president said. The chart he shared had been displayed on a Fox commentator's show, one that isn't known for accurate reality. For starters, it was old, inaccurate data.
By comparison, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a release in January saying “Violent crime for 2024 in the District of Columbia is down 35% from 2023 and is the lowest it has been in over 30 years.” Those aren't my words. Read the release for yourself. Check the DOJ data, too. It shows that Washington had 187 homicides in 2024, down from 274 homicides in 2023.
Yes, still far too many homicides for D.C., New Orleans or any other city, but let's call Trump's crime exaggeration what it was: a lie.
I realize our Louisiana National Guard folks are doing their job. They signed up for duty. They take orders. They go where they're sent. But this is a case where a real leader should admit a mistake, rescind his directive and tell our men and women to return home. They have better things to do.