The deployment of the troops follows an order by US President Donald Trump for a crackdown on crime in the US capital, a similar action he took during protests in Los Angeles in June, prompting widespread backlash.

President Trump is the first president to use a declared emergency to wrest control of Washington, D.C.’s police force.

The influx came the morning after the Republican president announced he would be activating the guard members and taking over the District’s police department, something the law allows him to do temporarily.