A National Guard member deployed at the request of President Donald Trump pulled a gun on his fellow Guardsman last month, court documents show.
Zion Mitchell, a 21-year-old National Guard member from Georgia, is being held in jail after allegedly pointing his loaded service weapon at a fellow Guardsman while they were on break from walking patrol.
Court records detail that Mitchell was sitting with a group of Guard members in a van parked outside a Popeyes in D.C.’s Northeast quadrant. He then argued with another Guard member over whether a particular hairstyle complied with Army rules.
Mitchell told the Guard member, “I would slap the Jackson 5 out of you,” to which she eventually told him to ”Shut the f--k up,” documents show.
The victim told police that she then heard a “holster click.” She said she was sitting in the passenger seat of the van, so she could not see Mitchell’s gun in the third row of the van, but recalled hearing another Guard member tell him, “Put that up. You almost shot me in the hand.”
A Guard member sitting next to Mitchell in the van then said, “Why would you do that?” and Mitchell responded, “It doesn’t matter; it was on safe,” according to court documents.
In interviews with police, Mitchell’s fellow Guardsmen detailed his concerning behavior.
One Guard member told police that Mitchell routinely picked on people, and another Guard member even said he liked to threaten women. A third Guard member confirmed to police that Mitchell’s gun was loaded and had a round in the chamber.
During his police interview, Mitchell initially said that he pulled a pistol magazine out of his vest pocket and pointed it at her during some playful arguments, but he later admitted that he pulled out his pistol.
He is facing multiple felony charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He is being held in a D.C. jail without bail.
A hearing is set for Sept. 15.
“The case is being prosecuted consistent with all D.C. violent crime cases and remains under investigation,” Timothy Lauer, executive director of external affairs for the Department of Justice, said in a statement.
Mitchell is just one of thousands of National Guardsmen who have been deployed in Trump’s Washington for over a year now.
District leaders and many residents have argued the federal presence is unnecessary and politically motivated, as they have accused the Trump administration of using Washington as a testing ground for its tough-on-crime agenda.
The National Guardsmen have also looked largely bored on their indefinite deployment, with many pictured on their phones or even vaping, as they aimlessly walk around D.C. They are also often seen patrolling in D.C.’s wealthier neighborhoods, such as Cleveland Park and Georgetown, where crime is already significantly lower than in the rest of the city.
