'This could end very badly': Trump admin's switch up on guns panics experts
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the Trump administration had switched its position on National Guard soldiers carrying guns as they take control of Washington, DC, prompting analysts to panic.
According to the conservative news outlet's reporting, "The shift comes after defense officials said the soldiers deployed to the capital wouldn’t be armed."
"More National Guard troops are heading soon to Washington, D.C., and they are preparing to start carrying weapons in the coming days, officials say, a major shift that comes days after President Trump said he was deploying them to 'take back' the capital from what he described as violent criminals," the report states. "Defense officials had previously said the 800 National Guard soldiers deployed wouldn’t be armed, unlike many federal law-enforcement agents sent to the capital. They also weren’t to have weapons in their vehicles. 'Weapons are available if needed but will remain in the armory,' the U.S. Army said in a press release Thursday."
That report caught the attention of legal analyst Ryan Goodman, who is a chaired professor at NYU Law and a former chaired professor at Harvard Law, as well as a former special counsel for the Department of Defense.
"This could end up very badly given what we know of Rules on Use of Force (RUF) for Guard in DC," Goodman said Saturday. "And different training regimens compared to local police."
Liberal commentator Wajahat Ali also chimed in, warning that "Trump and MAGA will overreach."
"This is already happening. Americans are going to see our soldiers rough up and potentially shoot innocent civilians," Ali wrote. "Republicans think people won't care. As the economy turns, people are terrorized, and Epstein files aren't released...they will."
MAGA accounts, on the other hand, celebrated the news. JOHN Golden Maga, for instance, said, "I REALLY hope this is true."
"The National Guard NEEDS to be armed in a vioIent[sic] city like Washington. No way to restore law and order otherwise!" the MAGA user added.