WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump deployed 800 National Guard troops to the streets of Washington, DC, a rare flex of his presidential authority over the military while a court mulls the legality of his prior order sending troops to Los Angeles.

Trump activated hundreds of District of Columbia National Guard to back up local law enforcement, while calling a “crime emergency” in the US capital.

The National Guard began to appear in Washington, DC, tonight, a day after President Donald Trump placed the nation’s capital’s police department “under direct federal control.”