The protesters jeered Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller as they visited Union Station, blocks from the U.S. Capitol, to thank the troops at a Shake Shack where they bought lunch for the guard members.

The National Guard has been deployed many times historically. Experts say the president's decision to deploy the Guard as a blanket response to crime in D.C. is a departure from its intended mission.

An activist group called Refuse Fascism led the demonstrators as they marched down Connecticut Avenue to the National Mall, filling the road and blocking traffic. Many were wearing bright orange bandannas and holding signs with slogans, including “Trump Must Go Now” and “No ICE! No National Guard!”

President Trump’s announcement that he would federalize D.C.'s police department and send federal agencies and National Guard to Washington sparked backlash from liberal protesters.

Protesters gathered at the statehouse to voice their opposition to Governor Mike DeWine's decision to send National Guard members to Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump said he’ll patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., on Thursday night alongside police and the National Guard as his administration tightens its grip on the nation’s capital. “I’m going to be going out tonight with the police and with the military,