Georgia National Guard member arrested in DC for pulling loaded gun on fellow soldier

A Georgia National Guardsman was arrested earlier this month in Washington, D.C., after allegedly pulling a loaded gun on a fellow guardswoman on one of the city's busiest streets.

Specialist Zion Mitchell, 21, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, according to an arrest affidavit filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

The heated exchange took place in a black van stationed outside a Popeyes on northeast H Street, where six other members of the National Guard witnessed the incident.

Dispute Over Hairstyles

The victim—who was not identified in the affidavit, save for a detail connecting her to New Jersey—told investigators that the original disagreement was over hairstyles and whether their respective styles followed current Army regulations as set by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. At one point, Mitchell allegedly told her he would "slap the Jackson 5 out of you."

The victim was seated in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, while Mitchell was in the row just behind, to her left. After a fiery back-and-forth, the victim said she heard what she could only describe as a "holster click." One witness then accused Mitchell of having "almost shot" them in the hand, according to the affidavit.

The victim did not know until other National Guard members informed her after the fact that Mitchell had drawn his weapon and pointed it at her.

Weapon Was Loaded

One witness confirmed that Mitchell's weapon was loaded at the time, with a round in the chamber. Another told authorities that the victim had previously shared that Mitchell frequently threatened women, and that the two had allegedly not gotten along since she rejected his advances.

Broader Context of D.C. Deployment

Thousands of National Guard members have been patrolling Washington's streets since Donald Trump ordered their deployment to the supposedly crime-addled capital last summer. (Violent crime in Washington is at a 30-year low, according to federal estimates.)

Guard members told NPR last month that they felt Trump had "exploited" the National Guard. The seemingly pointless mission—which has amounted to little more than installing a military presence in the city—had left such a bad taste in the mouths of some members that they questioned whether they should fulfill their duties at all.

"If we continue down this path, where this kind of 'presence patrol' mission becomes the new definitive image of the National Guard, it's going to completely rebrand everything that was noble about the National Guard into being mundane at best and threatening at worst," one guard member told NPR.

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch to Retire

The Smithsonian's chief official, Lonnie G. Bunch III, will retire by the end of the year.

The 73-year-old historian said Tuesday that his decision to step down was not tied to the various pressures stemming from the Trump administration, which has spent the last year and a half strong-arming Smithsonian officials into revising portions of U.S. history.

Bunch founded the National Museum of African American History and Culture and became the Smithsonian's first Black leader in 2019, overseeing 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers, and several education units and centers. Over the course of his career, Bunch spent 38 years working for the institution, advancing public education.

"I have spent nearly half of my life working at and being part of the Smithsonian family, and what a privilege it has been," Bunch wrote in a statement. "There is no place like the Smithsonian—it has been one of the great loves of my life, and I am extraordinarily proud of what we have accomplished together. I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward."

Bunch's exit will nonetheless catapult the institution into another era of tumult and change, at a time when federal forces have already placed dramatic emphasis on the organization's restructuring.