West Virginia is sending 300 to 400 members of its National Guard to the nation’s capital to assist in the Trump administration’s takeover of the city’s police department.

The city’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit calling for an emergency restraining order to block the move, accusing the Trump Administration of implementing a “hostile takeover” of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) that would lead to “imminent, irreparable harm”.

The National Guard presence in D.C. is set to increase in the coming days after the governors of some Republican states deployed troops to the capital.

South Carolina and Ohio say they will send a combined 350 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., supplementing a surge of troops from Republican-led states.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will seek more permanent federal control of the Washington, D.C., police force as he continues his efforts to ramp-up crime enforcement in the nation's capital.

A White House spokesperson told CBS News that while deployed National Guard members "may be armed," they will not make arrests.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia said his state would send 300 to 400 troops to Washington, while Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina pledged 200 members. Gov. Mike DeWine said he would send another 150.

Aug 16 (Reuters) - The Republican governors of three states are deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., at the request of the administration of President Donald Trump, who has portrayed the city as awash in crime.

The moves come as federal agents and National Guard troops have begun to appear across the heavily Democratic city after President Trump's executive order earlier this week.