AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
More National Guard troops are on their way to Washington to support what President Trump describes as a crackdown on crime and disorder. Some experts have voiced suspicion.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: What strikes me about this deployment is that it is a communication exercise.
RASCOE: That's from an authoritarianism conference here in D.C. We'll take you there in a moment. First, we hear from some of the hundreds of concerned Americans who marched Saturday outside the White House. NPR's Brian Mann was there.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: The crowd gathered in Dupont Circle, then marched 1 1/2 miles through the city to the White House, calling for Trump to withdraw National Guard troops and pull back hundreds of federal agents from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting) Trump must go now.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Trump must go now.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting) Trump must go now.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Trump must go now.
MANN: Sam Goldman (ph), an activist from Philadelphia, was one of the organizers.
SAM GOLDMAN: We have a military occupation in the streets. Masked men gunned up, patrolling the street.
MANN: People here voiced anger at Trump and also said they fear American democracy is being eroded in the U.S., as militarization on the streets of the nation's capital escalates. Catherine Tobias (ph) lives just outside D.C.
CATHERINE TOBIAS: I'm pretty sure it won't be the last city that is federalized. I don't want martial law in the United States, and I feel like that's the direction that it's going.
(CHEERING)
MANN: In a statement about the protest sent to NPR, a White House spokeswoman said, quote, "Only D.C. liberals would be upset about efforts to stop violent crime." There was one tense moment when protesters marched past a National Guard unit in their parked Humvee.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Wake up, America. Wake up.
MANN: Metropolitan police set up a barrier between Guard soldiers and the protesters. The encounter de-escalated, and the march continued peacefully. Many people told NPR they're not confident gatherings like this one will put real pressure on Trump. Catherine Ernst (ph) has lived in the D.C. area for seven years.
CATHERINE ERNST: It's a lot better than lying down and letting it happen.
MANN: You want more people?
ERNST: Yes, I would love more people.
MANN: Republican governors in Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia are now sending hundreds of additional Guard soldiers to help patrol D.C. streets. Another Republican governor, Phil Scott of Vermont, has declined to send troops for this operation, with a spokesman telling Vermont Public, quote, "The governor just does not support utilizing the Guard for this purpose."
Brian Mann, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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