Mitchell Miller | mmiller1@wtop.com
August 20, 2025, 5:02 PM
A National Guard armored vehicle collided with a car on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in the midst of the widening presence of military personnel as part of President Donald Trump’s federal anti-crime plan for D.C.
A person who was in the car was briefly trapped inside and extricated by emergency responders, who had to use Jaws of Life to free them, according to the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.
The individual was taken to a hospital and had minor injuries.
In a video at the scene of the accident, an SUV with substantial damage and a sand-colored Humvee vehicle can be seen at the intersection, not far from Eastern Market. A woman can be heard saying, “You come into our city, and this is what you do?!”
The accident occurred at 8th Street and North Carolina Avenue, SE during morning rush hour traffic. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
Nearly 2,000 National Guard personnel are being deployed across the District, under the federal crime-fighting initiative of the Trump administration, which includes oversight of the D.C. police department.
Units from six Republican-led states are being sent in to supplement the 800 D.C. National Guard troops who have already been on the street.
As National Guard personnel fan out across the city, the U.S. Marshals Service has begun offering a $500 reward for tips that lead to arrests in D.C. The reward was announced this week on social media with a graphic titled, “Washington D.C. Crime Emergency.”
The post said the reward is linked to tips that lead to a D.C. arrest “during the Public Safety Surge.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi recently announced that the new director of the U.S. Marshals Service, Gadyaces Serralta, is in charge of “command and control” related to the law enforcement surge.
Serralta was sworn in to his new post at the start of the month, after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
He has decades of law enforcement experience, including as a patrol officer in South Florida. He is also involved in coordinating federal and local resources to battle crime in D.C.
“We utilize intelligence from the Metropolitan Police Department in order to get our folks deployed to the areas, the chokepoints — the locations where the violence has festered,” he said in a recent interview on “The Takeout with Major Garrett” for CBS News.
The U.S. Marshals Service has also deputized many of the National Guard personnel who are posted in various parts of the District, including areas where there are a lot of tourists.
Guard troops have a high profile in D.C., but do not make arrests.
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Mitchell Miller has worked at WTOP since 1996, as a producer, editor, reporter and Senior News Director. After working “behind the scenes,” coordinating coverage and reporter coverage for years, Mitchell moved back to his first love — reporting. He is now WTOP’s Capitol Hill reporter.
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