National Guard soldiers tackle woman to the ground, handcuff her outside her home

New footage from a home security camera in Washington DC shows National Guard soldiers tackle a woman to the ground, put her in handcuffs, and detain her seemingly without any justification or provocation.

The footage, which was submitted to FilmThePoliceDC.org on June 2, shows three male National Guard soldiers approach a woman while she sits alone on a bench outside her home. As she attempts to walk back inside, the soldiers physically surround her and block her from leaving. On the audio, she says clearly, “You have absolutely no authority to detain me” and “get…away from me” before screaming for help as the soldiers close in on her, tackle her to the ground, and handcuff her. With her hands restrained behind her back, a soldier pins her to the ground and she says, “You guys came onto my property — my private property.”

This incident took place in the Truxton Circle neighborhood of DC at approximately 5:07 PM on Friday, May 8, 2026.

In response, Free DC issued the following statement:

“We need everyone to recognize that DC is under attack from an occupying military force. The National Guard are not here to lower crime — they are here to commit crime. The governors who have National Guard deployed to DC are actively contributing to an illegal and unjustified occupation that is becoming increasingly dangerous to people here and which could ultimately result in seditious interference in the peaceful transfer of power. We call on Congress to immediately grant DC’s mayor the authority to command the DC National Guard, and we call on all governors with National Guard in DC to recall your troops NOW.”

On at least three additional occasions in the last two weeks, National Guard soldiers have handcuffed and detained people in DC, in some cases with absolutely no cause. National Guard members are prohibited from conducting domestic policing and they do not have legal authority to place people under arrest. However, these incidents demonstrate a clear and extremely concerning pattern about the National Guard’s behavior and potential directives.

On Friday May 15, Trump’s Director of the U.S. Marshals Service announced his intent to “surge” the number of National Guard members in DC to 5,000. There are currently approximately 3,450 National Guard members deployed in DC — up from 2,500 just over one week ago.

Seventeen states and two territories have agreed to Trump’s request to deploy National Guard soldiers to DC. The National Guard units currently deployed are: AL, AK, AR, FL, GA, IN, ID, KY, LA, MS, NE, ND, OH, OK, SC, TN, and WV, as well as DC, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Community members who witness the National Guard, federal law enforcement agents, or Metropolitan Police Department officers interacting with individuals should record the interactions. Footage and photos should be sent to Report@FilmThePoliceDC.org. 

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