Professor weighs in on D.C. Guard presence, VA impact

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops to Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Aug. 12, a professor from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), shared what it could potentially mean for Virginia.

"I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor," President Donald Trump said at a press conference on Monday.

Chris Saladino, an associate professor of political science at VCU has studied government militarization, and he says the reasoning behind the deployment raises questions.

"There's not an insurrection. There's not an attack from an enemy. There is really no event that triggers this," he said.

Saladino noted that National Guard troops are typically used in emergencies such as extreme weather events or large-scale protests. However, according to the Metropolitan Police Department, violent crime in the city has dropped by nearly 30% over the past year.

"The troops are there until what exactly happens,?" Saladino questioned. "That these crime rates that are low, now suddenly are going to be less high?"

On Wednesday, Trump announced his intention to seek more permanent federal control over Washington D.C.

Saladino said that while Virginia is not immediately affected, there are financial and geographical concerns to consider.

"It's going to cost Virginians money, because the governor has been pretty clear that he has this great interest in supporting this mission," Saladino said. "But the governor is pledging Virginia's resources."

A a social media post by Governor Youngkin on Monday reads:

"It is a bad day for criminals in Washington, D.C. Thank you, President Trump for taking action to protect people in our Nation’s Capital. Terry Cole knows from our partnership with Director Kash Patel and General Pam Bondi in Virginia that when we back the blue and let police catch criminals- we make our streets safer!"

Saladino said its a 'powerful law and order message emanating from our statehouse, but it's not to deploy anyone in Virginia because of Virginia's high crime rates.'

Secondly, he said Virginia's proximity to the Nation's Capital could have an affect.

"It's a very tenuous border between the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia. And as we've seen in international politics, borders are just lines," Saladino added.

Saladino also warned that this deployment could set a precedent for broader use of federal force in politically different areas across the country.

"For cities like Norfolk and Richmond and Charlottesville, where the president has said, 'other cities like this'... And we think that he means blue cities that may have crime, Richmond has crime."

For now, Saladino emphasized that the militarization in D.C. poses no immediate impact on Virginians. Still, he said that the situation at the capital could change daily.