A Georgia National Guard soldier deployed to Washington, D.C. as part of a federal task force fighting crime in the capital is now facing felony weapons charges — for allegedly pulling a gun on one of his own during an argument about hairstyles.

Zion Mitchell, 21, was arrested on Sept. 1 and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm while committing a crime of violence, both felonies, D.C. police said. The charges stem from an incident on Aug. 25, when Mitchell and a female fellow guard member were sitting in a van during a break from patrol duty, according to court documents cited by NBC4 Washington.

The two soldiers began arguing over whether their hairstyles complied with Army grooming regulations. As the dispute escalated, the woman told investigators she heard a distinct click — the sound of a holster opening. Other guard members in the van later told her that Mitchell had drawn his weapon and pointed it at her, according to News 12 WRDW.

"She Assumed the Gun Was Loaded"

The woman did not see the weapon drawn herself but said she had no reason to doubt the account, given how routinely armed the guardsmen were during their patrols.

She told the investigating MPD officer that she assumed the gun was loaded since National Guard firearms are generally carried loaded.

Mitchell is one of thousands of guardsmen — more than 3,100 from 18 states, Puerto Rico and D.C., according to Pentagon figures — who have been deployed to Washington since August 2025 under an order from President Trump, who cited what he called out-of-control crime in the capital. The mission, since expanded and extended through January 2029, has put armed troops on street corners, at Metro stations and outside tourist landmarks across the city, a presence NBC News and other outlets have tracked closely amid scrutiny of the deployment's rules of engagement.

The arrest adds to a string of embarrassing incidents involving the armed federal presence in the capital, and comes just weeks after a shooting involving two other National Guard members deployed under the same task force drew national attention. Critics of the deployment have pointed to episodes like this as evidence that arming thousands of troops for what is essentially a policing role carries real risk of exactly this kind of internal conflict spiraling into violence.

A spokesperson for the Joint Task Force did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Mitchell's status within the unit, NBC4 Washington reported. It is not yet known whether Mitchell has entered a plea, or whether he remains on active deployment in the district. The Metropolitan Police Department's investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are possible depending on what investigators recover from interviews with the other guard members present in the van that day.

Mitchell's case is expected to move through D.C. Superior Court in the coming weeks.