Gov. Mike DeWine agreed Wednesday to extend how long 150 members of the Ohio National Guard will be stationed in Washington D.C., while saying he doesn鈥檛 envision a similar need for them in any of Ohio鈥檚 cities.
DeWine said he believes local law enforcement agencies already on the ground should be the ones targeting violent crime in Ohio. As commander-in-chief of the Guard, he sees the state military force鈥檚 duties as different here, he said.
鈥淚nvolving crowds, involving unruliness,鈥� DeWine said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a role for the Guard, but when you鈥檙e talking about violent crime, it needs to be very pinpointed.鈥�
Guard members have been mobilized for weeks in Washington, under an order from President Trump, who claims the city is facing a crime emergency, though statistics show violent crime there is at . Trump has threatened to send Guard members to other Democrat-led major cities on similar missions.
In 2024, however, the violent crime rate was higher in Cleveland than it was in Washington, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data. Cincinnati and Columbus saw lower violent crime rates than both cities.
When asked whether those Ohio rates warranted similar federal involvement, U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno told the Statehouse News Bureau he believes Cleveland officials 鈥渘eed to get serious about fighting crime鈥� to avoid eventual intervention.
鈥淐leveland has an extraordinarily high crime rate, and it doesn鈥檛 seem like the elected officials there, whether it鈥檚 city council, the mayor, are doing enough to take care of it,鈥� Moreno said in an interview last week. 鈥淎s long as these statistics continue to stay this high, we can鈥檛 just turn a blind eye.鈥�
From 2023 to 2024, the FBI documented violent crime rates as decreasing nationwide by nearly 4.5%. Homicides fell by as much as 15%.
DeWine has defended his decision to send those Ohio guard members to Washington, who the Secretary of the Army requested for 30 days in August. He's said it was consistent with his decision to send requested troops to Minnesota during protests following the George Floyd killing in 2020, and to southern states to help with weather-related cleanup. The Guar'd D.C. assignment will now go until Nov. 30, DeWine said late Wednesday.
Democratic politicians and progressive organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have denounced the federal militarization of the Guard. The administration鈥檚 actions have been subject to more than one lawsuit.
