After US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of military and federal law enforcement to Washington in August 2025, social media users circulated numerous images purporting to show the scene in the nation's capital.

In Washington on Wednesday night, the most visible sign of President Trump’s takeover of the local Police Department was a sobriety checkpoint operated by local and federal police agencies on a busy street near downtown, which drew a crowd of jeering protesters.

National Guard troops scaled up their presence in D.C. Thursday, with several stationed around the National Mall, at Union Station, on the subway, and other places.

Outside the busiest train station in Washington, newly deployed National Guard troops wearing camouflage lean on a huge military Humvee. Wary residents and curious tourists stop to take photos, while inside the elegant Union Station a string trio plays "What a Wonderful World.