Members of the National Guard patrol on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. National Guard troops are a familiar presence during times of crisis — they are often deployed to assist in catastrophic weather events, riots, and even were used during the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. What happened when Lyndon Johnson federalized the National Guard President Lyndon B. Johnson federalized the National Guard in 1965, calling on troops to protect civil rights advocates who were marching from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery. In more recent history, presidents have usually deferred to the wishes of governors in assessing whether a National Guard presence is necessary. But during the Civil Rights Movement, presidents on some occasions used their authority to supersede states’ rights to activate the National Guard.