WASHINGTON — Over the weekend, most of the 2,300+ National Guard troops stationed in Washington began to be equipped with firearms for their law enforcement support role. However, as in other National Guard operations, these personnel have been instructed to use their M17 pistols and powerful M4 rifles strictly for self-defense or in critical situations, according to two Defense Department officials informed by NBC News.

According to the engagement protocols, the use of lethal force is permitted solely when there is a “reasonable belief of an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm,” one defense official explained. The potential threat must have both the “ability and opportunity” to endanger or cause serious harm to a guard member. The primary aim for the guard members, the official emphasized, is personal and public defense.

Armed guard members will receive weapons they are typically assigned and trained to use, such as M17 handguns and M4 semiautomatic rifles, akin to assault rifles, stated the Defense Department officials. Some guards may also carry M9 pistols.

These military firearms are comparable to those utilized by police departments nationwide. The M4 is a standard semiautomatic rifle with capabilities similar to those of semiautomatic rifles used by law enforcement agencies.

The M17 handgun closely resembles the Sig Sauer 320 pistol, a semiautomatic firearm that police forces across the country have employed for years. Washington police also use semiautomatic handguns and rifles.

Similar to other missions

The mission of the troops in Washington mirrors that of guard members assisting law enforcement in other states, the officials noted.

The primary difference is that a governor would normally call up the guard instead of the president’s federalizing it, as occurred in the District of Columbia. In Washington, the mayor typically submits a request to activate the guard through the defense secretary.

After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed an order allowing the guard deployed to D.C. to carry weapons last week, some began carrying them to locations around the city. This deployment comes from D.C. and six states: Louisiana, Ohio, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

While officials believe that at any one time there could be 500 to 800 guard members on the streets, the number fluctuates daily depending on need and circumstances, the Defense Department officials said. And only guard members operating in certain areas and on certain missions in Washington will be armed, they added.

For example, guard members who are carrying out “beautification” duties at national monuments will not typically be armed. But those on so-called presence patrols might be, the officials said. The decision about whether guard members are armed in some locations in the city is up to the local commander.

Arming National Guard members during federal missions is common. Guard troops deployed on a federal mission in Los Angeles this year were also assigned their unit-issued weapons, according to a third Defense Department official. NBC News was not able to identify any examples of the guard members’ firing their rifles or pistols in Los Angeles.

Trump’s claims

President Donald Trump has said his use of the guard to support local law enforcement is part of his effort to rid the nation’s capital of violent crime. And a U.S. official said arming the guard in some neighborhoods was a preventive step, essentially sending a signal to anyone who might target the guard not to do so.

So far, there have been few incidents in Washington involving guard members. But on Saturday, Mississippi National Guard members responded to a call for protection from a D.C. resident who said an assailant was threatening bystanders.

The guard members formed a protective barrier between the person and the alleged victims while also notifying local police. U.S. Capitol Police took the person into custody and obtained statements from the guard members involved, according to a spokesperson for the guard deployment in Washington.

Trump said Monday that because of his deployment of the guard, Washington had not had a murder in 11 days and claimed it had been years since the city had gone more than a week without a murder. In fact, local police data shows that Washington went 16 days without a murder this year, from Feb. 25 to March 12.