A Defense Department official who was not authorised to speak publicly said some units on certain missions would be armed, some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force

The development in Trump's extraordinary effort to override the law enforcement authority of state and local governments comes as he is considering expanding the deployments to other Democratic-led cities, including Baltimore, Chicago and New York

US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to expand his military deployments to more Democratic-led cities, responding to an offer by Maryland's governor to join him in a tour of Baltimore by saying he might instead "send in the troops"

His latest pledge to ramp up the military's presence in left-leaning cities came as at least some National Guard units in the nation's capital began carrying weapons over the weekend, making good on a directive issued Friday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

The most recent developments in Trump's extraordinary effort to override the law enforcement authority of state and local governments came after he said he was considering Chicago and New York for troop deployments similar to what he has unleashed on the nation's capital