(MENAFN) Baltimore city leaders in Maryland staged a protest on Friday against President Donald Trump’s plan to send National Guard troops to the city, following his remarks describing the crime situation there as being “at levels that no one has ever seen before.”

The demonstration, organized by local government officials in opposition to Trump’s push to expand security measures seen in Washington, DC, to other high-crime cities, included key figures such as Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, and various city residents.

Governor Moore, speaking at the event, firmly rejected the need for the National Guard in Baltimore. He accused the president’s threat of being little more than a “purely theatrical” political move, aimed at sending a message rather than addressing the city’s actual security concerns.

Participants in the protest echoed Moore’s sentiments with chants, including the rallying cry, “We all we got, we all we need.”

Trump’s earlier remarks had pointed to the security measures introduced in Washington, which he claimed had cleared the capital of criminals. He suggested similar actions could be applied to cities like Baltimore and Chicago, which he described as suffering from some of the highest crime rates globally. In a recent statement, Trump labeled the situation in these cities “shameful” and insisted that authorities must intervene to restore safety.

Meanwhile, Trump also announced plans to deploy National Guard personnel to New Orleans, Louisiana, during a separate White House event. He promised the city would be “safe” within two weeks, citing reductions in crime following a public safety emergency declaration in Washington, DC, on August 11.

“We’ll be going elsewhere throughout the country, we’re going to bring crime down, because we can’t have cities that are unsafe,” Trump declared, vowing to extend similar efforts to other US cities, including Baltimore.

The “public safety emergency” declared in Washington on August 11 resulted in a significant federal presence aimed at boosting security and reducing crime. Federal authorities took control of local police operations, and National Guard troops were deployed to the city. The Department of Justice appointed Terry Cole, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as the city’s “emergency police commissioner.”

By August 14, the Pentagon confirmed that 800 National Guard personnel had arrived in Washington, DC. Additional National Guard units from states like West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio also joined the effort, further bolstering the federal response to rising crime.

MENAFN07092025000045017169ID1110027665