A Georgia National Guardsman assigned to the federal task force patrolling Washington, D.C., has been charged with two felonies after witnesses told police he allegedly pointed a loaded service pistol at a fellow soldier during an argument over Army grooming regulations.
Spc. Zion Mitchell, 21, of Macon, Ga., faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, according to an arrest affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court.
A judge issued a warrant for his arrest Sept. 1. He is being held without bond, according to court records, with a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 4.
According to the affidavit, the confrontation happened around 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 25, when a group of Guard members on a break from patrol were sitting in a black van parked near a Popeyes restaurant on H Street Northeast.
The Alleged Confrontation
The argument purportedly began over whether the soldiers’ hairstyles complied with Army regulations, the affidavit says.
It escalated into a hostile exchange. At one point, Mitchell allegedly told the other soldier, a woman, something to the effect that he would “slap the Jackson 5” out of her, according to the document. She then told him to stop, the affidavit says.
Two of the other Guard members in the van told Metropolitan Police Department detectives that they saw Mitchell draw his service pistol and point it in the woman’s direction, over another soldier’s shoulder.
Three others claimed they heard the confrontation but did not see the weapon drawn. One of the witnesses who saw it said the pistol was loaded with a round in the chamber.
The woman said she did not see the firearm but heard what she described as a holster clicking open, and then heard someone tell Mitchell to put the weapon away. She then left the van and went into the restaurant. No injuries were reported.
When another Guard member asked why he had drawn the gun, Mitchell responded, “It doesn’t matter, it was on safe,” according to the affidavit.
Mitchell’s Account
In a custodial interview after he waived his rights, Mitchell first told detectives that he had pulled a pistol magazine from his vest pocket and pointed it at the other soldier as “playful banter,” per the affidavit.
He then recanted that account and acknowledged that he had drawn his pistol and pointed it in her direction, though he said the weapon was angled roughly 45 degrees toward the ground and was “not pointed towards her head.”
One witness told investigators that the woman had said Mitchell “threatens females” and that the two did not get along after she rejected his advances—an account that came from that witness relaying what the woman had told her.
Mitchell is one of about 4,600 National Guard members deployed to Washington under President Donald Trump’s task force to combat crime in the city, a mission that has drawn objections from some local officials who question both its legality and its effect on crime.
The Georgia National Guard has the second-largest state deployment on the D.C. mission. Guard members began carrying sidearms in the city in August 2025. They’ve been operating under rules that permit the use of force only against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.
Officials with the task force overseeing the Washington deployment did not immediately provide details about Mitchell’s current standing.
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