A National Guardsman assigned to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., as part of President Trump’s crackdown on crime is now facing criminal charges himself after he allegedly pulled a gun on a colleague.
Zion Mitchell, 21, of Macon, Georgia, was arrested earlier this month on charges of possessing a firearm while committing the crime of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon, according to the criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia’s Superior Court by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office.
According to the complaint, the victim was sitting with other fellow Guardsmen in a black van in front of a Popeyes in Northeast Washington, D.C., on Aug. 25, when she and Mitchell got into an argument over their hairstyles and whether they were following Army regulations.
The victim later told police she heard a “holster click” and thought that Mitchell had flicked his holster open. She later learned from another colleague that he had drawn his weapon and pointed it at her in the van.
Several witnesses in the van told police they saw Mitchell remove his gun and point it at the victim. In the complaint, one of the witnesses described him as someone who “picks on people and is aggressive,” while another said that Mitchell was known for threatening women.
When police questioned Mitchell, he initially dismissed his encounter with the victim as playful banter, but he later recanted that version of the story and admitted he had pulled out his pistol and pointed it in her direction, the complaint says.
Pirro has praised the National Guard in the past for helping to reduce violent crime rates in D.C. National Guard forces were initially deployed to D.C. streets in August 2025 as part of an anti-crime mission by the Trump administration that has also included federal law enforcement officers and local police.
Mitchell has been detained without bond, according to the public court docket.
An attorney for Mitchell could not be immediately reached.
