The cavernous main hall at Washington's Union Station is adorned with 46 statues of Roman legionnaires, their stony-faced glares greeting passengers as they arrive by train in the nation's capital.
Those shield-bearing figures have recently been joined by very real troops, thanks to an edict by President Donald Trump who wants to cut crime in Washington and make it “beautiful”.
Armed with handguns and in some cases M4 carbine assault rifles, more than 2,000 National Guard troops from the District of Columbia and a half dozen states have become a common sight in the city since their arrival last month.
Tourists strolling along the National Mall or entering the subway are now likely to encounter camouflage-clad troops, often working alongside local police, as a visible deterrent to counter what Mr Trump had declared a “crime emergency”.
At Union Station, where groups of two or four Guardsmen are often seen on patrol, their presence is splitting opinions.
“It's a little weird,” said Caitlin, an au pair from the Netherlands, as she stood beneath the station's barrel-vaulted ceilings, noting that people in her country are not used to seeing soldiers like this. “It does make me feel a bit more safe but it's a little unusual.”
Mr Trump temporarily placed Washington's police department under federal control and ordered the National Guard to be posted to address the city's “rampant violence”. They also are helping to clean up Washington by raking leaves and picking up rubbish.
Lucy Cheruiyot, a philosophy student, said the train station move was pointless, given the lack of crime in the already well-policed terminus.
“They're solving no problem. This is a safe place, honestly. It's the train station – you go in, you buy your ticket and you're out,” the Baltimore resident said, adding that it was “morally reprehensible” for US troops to be policing Americans.
The military presence has upset a lot of people in the heavily Democrat Washington, many of whom already feel put upon by the federal government. Republicans have blocked DC from statehood so it has no representation in Congress, despite a requirement for residents to pay federal income tax.
Questions have also been raised about whether the city even needed help in fighting crime. Data from the Metropolitan Police Department showed total violent crime for 2024 down 35 per cent from the previous year, the lowest it has been in over 30 years.
“I think it's unnecessary. It's just unfortunate to see the National Guard standing around,” said Sonya Thomas, a fund-raiser from Annapolis. “I don't want troops on the street … I don't think they should be here.”
But Ms Thomas said one aspect of the presence she did appreciate was that troops are cleaning up rubbish from the streets and tidying Washington's many parks, some of which were looking messy after the Trump administration fired hundreds of Park Service workers this year as part of a cull of federal employees.
“It seems like a lot of waste of taxpayer money to have National Guard cleaning up the city, but I'll take it,” she said.
Many Republicans claim DC's crime numbers are being falsely manipulated and cheer the capital’s increased security in a city where carjackings, burglaries and muggings had become common. They also support troops' backup to federal agents as they arrest immigrants.
Mr Trump last week claimed that crime in the city been eradicated. While that is not true, police numbers do point to a decrease even though members of the National Guard are not allowed to arrest anyone.
“We have no crime in Washington, we literally have no crime,” Mr Trump said on Friday. “They said it's down 87 per cent. It's not down 87, it's down like 100 per cent.”
It is not clear how long the city will continue to see troops on the street. Their initial mission has been partially extended to November 30 but last week DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit aiming to block the posting on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and breaks federal laws.
Just days earlier, a federal judge found the Trump administration had broken the law when it sent thousands of National Guard troops to quell protests in Los Angeles in June.
That “wilfully” violated 19th century legislation known as the Posse Comitatus Act, which blocks soldiers from enforcing domestic laws.
“Armed soldiers should not be policing American citizens on American soil,” Mr Schwalb said in a post on X. “The forced military occupation of the District of Columbia violates our local autonomy and basic freedoms. It must end.”
Mr Trump appears undeterred. On Friday, he announced he was sending the National Guard to Memphis, Tennessee to address crime concerns, and he has repeatedly said he will send troops to Chicago, despite stiff resistance from the state and local governments there. On Monday, his administration announced a new federal operation aimed at undocumented immigrants in the Windy City.
“Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of War,” he wrote on Truth Social above a meme parodying a scene from Apocalypse Now.
Back at Union Station, Guardsmen were polite but mainly declined to speak to a reporter on the record. They said they had experienced some hostility as well as positive interactions from people wanting to pose for selfies. The National heard one woman tell troops she feared they would one day be told to open fire on American citizens.
As an indication of how fed up Washingtonians feel about the federal takeover of their city, prosecutors have failed several times to persuade local juries to pursue criminal charges against people accused of threatening federal agents.
Last month, a grand jury refused to indict a government lawyer who was facing a felony assault charge for throwing a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent – a confrontation captured on a video that went viral.
A different grand jury rejected an indictment against a man who was arrested on an assault charge by a US Park Police officer with the assistance of National Guard members.
Thomas Mossey, a former civilian employee of the US Army, stood outside Union Station holding signs protesting against the National Guard presence.
He said it was a “phenomenal waste of money” and thought the “Trump regime” is normalising the military occupation of cities as a prelude to declaring martial law and cancelling next year's midterm elections. The apparent conspiracy theory is being widely circulated on social media.
The National Guard did not respond to a request to interview an officer.
