Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has approved the deployment of approximately one hundred soldiers from the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 142nd Field Artillery Brigade to Washington, D.C., to support civil security operations under the control of the D.C. National Guard.

The month-long deployment is federally funded and is described as a "routine rotational relief" of existing units currently assigned to the mission.

The troops will assemble at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center in Barling in the coming weeks for administrative processing, medical and dental readiness screening and pre-mobilisation training.

They are scheduled to move to the capital after the Thanksgiving holiday, and the mission is expected to last several months under federal authority.

Brigadier General Chad Bridges, Adjutant General of Arkansas, said the Guardsmen bring “exceptional training, discipline and professionalism” and will be ready to integrate with the D.C. National Guard in the coming weeks when they begin patrols and law-enforcement support in designated areas of the city.

The deployment follows close on the heels of Arkansas troops mobilising to the southern border to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Deputy state officials emphasised that the D.C. mission is a standard rotation rather than a new surge.

In response to the announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas issued a statement calling for the governor to instead focus resources on state-level challenges including food insecurity, rising costs and under-invested public services.

The group argued that Arkansans deserve “real investments in safety, stability and opportunity — not distractions from the challenges our communities face every day.”