Norton Introduces Bill to Require Armed Forces, Including National Guard, Deployed in D.C. to Participate in Body Camera Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill today to require members of the armed forces, including the National Guard, deployed in D.C. in response to an order of the president to address crime or civil disturbances to participate in a body camera program similar to the one in use by D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). MPD stores videos for defined periods of time based on the type of activity captured and provides access to the video for the public and the press. 

“The Trump administration has deployed more than 2,000 troops to D.C. who are wholly unaccountable to D.C. residents. Even the D.C. National Guard troops are under the president’s control and do not report to the D.C. government,” Norton said. “This unwarranted deployment politicizes the military and does a disservice to members of the National Guard, who are being taken from their own families and jobs, and to D.C. residents, who neither requested nor consented to it. Body cameras would promote transparency and protect both the National Guard troops and D.C. residents from allegations of inappropriate or unlawful behavior.”

Statement of CongresswomanEleanor Holmes Norton 

on the Introduction of a Bill to Require Members of the Armed Forces Performing Active Service in the District of Columbia in Response to an Order of the President Which Relates to Crime or Civil Disturbance in the District of Columbia to Participate in a Program Substantially Similar to the Body-Worn Camera Program of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

August 26, 2025

Today, I introduce a bill that would require members of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard, deployed in the District of Columbia in response to an order of the President relating to crime or civil disturbance in D.C. to participate in a program substantially similar to the body-worn camera program of D.C.’s police department, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  This bill would apply to the current deployment of troops and any future deployment.

The use of body cameras by troops during deployments related to crime or civil disturbance in D.C. would promote transparency in the troops’ interactions with the public and protect the public and the troops. MPD has a well-established program for the use of body cameras, as well as for the preservation and disclosure of body camera footage.

The Trump administration has deployed more than 2,000 National Guard troops in D.C.  This deployment is a raw assertion of power over the more than 700,000 disenfranchised D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and Brown; a politicization of the military; a disservice to the members of the National Guard and their families; unwarranted; and possibly unlawful with respect to both the D.C. National Guard and the state National Guards.  I have urged the administration to remove these troops immediately.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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