I mostly feel sorry for the soldiers since they are under orders to wear full camo and plates walking around DC in the summer when 90 degrees and 70% humidity are common conditions.

The local news has detailed how some of them have themselves become victims of crime while here. Including of course the famous and horrible shooting when they were specifically targeted.

The legality is a big question mark. The District is essentially a federal base where a bunch of people live and work. That said, there is a broad federal prohibition against using military as law enforcement. But the National Guard is not quite the active duty military either. And they’re not really doing law enforcement.

I guess a future administration could decide to court martial an NG officer for executing unlawful orders, but that seems like it would be political suicide. Seems pretty unlikely.

Mostly they are for show, like so many other things this administration does. Just another aspect of the overall “for show” era of the U.S.