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.

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.”

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