A disturbing video clip and local arrest this week captured yet another ugly moment in Washington: a man riding a scooter allegedly approached two National Guard soldiers outside Union Station and spit on them, behavior so vile it prompted a federal felony assault charge. These servicemen were in the capital to help restore law and order after months of rising concerns, not to be treated like public targets for deranged provocateurs. Americans should be furious that anyone thinks it’s patriotic to abuse those who wear the uniform.
This incident didn’t happen in a vacuum — it comes amid the Trump administration’s controversial but lawful deployment of more than 2,000 Guard troops to Washington, a move a federal appeals court recently allowed to continue while legal fights proceed. Conservatives have argued this deployment was necessary because Democratic leaders in the city refused responsibility while crime and open hostility toward law enforcement ran unchecked. If Washington’s leaders spent less energy suing and more energy protecting residents, none of this theater would be necessary.
The stakes turned tragically real at the end of November when two National Guard members were ambushed near Farragut West, leaving one dead and another gravely wounded — a brutal reminder that our troops face real danger even on American soil. That attack forced the administration to pause certain asylum decisions and crystallized why a visible, prepared Guard presence matters in the capital. To dismiss these troops as mere political props is to ignore the human cost paid by young Americans who answered the call to serve.
Yet instead of gratitude, many in the District — egged on by media elites and local politicians — have treated the federal effort as an affront to their ideology, not a lifeline for citizens and small businesses enduring crime. Polling and street encounters show deep opposition to the deployment among D.C. residents, but this shouldn’t give license to civic contempt or assaults on service members. The same soft-on-crime mentality that excuses lawlessness then hypocritically cries foul when leaders try to fix the mess.
Law and order conservatives demand accountability: when someone spits on a soldier, hurls food at a federal officer, or stages a public confrontation with armed forces, prosecutors must pursue the full weight of the law. Charging and arresting offenders isn’t repression — it’s the baseline of a civilized society and a message that America will not tolerate intimidation of those protecting our streets. If the left will not defend order, patriotic Americans must and will insist on consequences for such brazen disrespect.
Patriots know the difference between political theater and real sacrifice, and now more than ever we must stand with the men and women who put themselves between chaos and ordinary citizens. Call your representatives, support reasonable prosecutions, and show up for the Guard at vigils and fundraisers — actions matter more than hashtags. When the country is under strain, true conservatives defend the rule of law, honor the uniform, and refuse to let a fringe minority intimidate the rest of us.
