Washington Even though municipal officials emphasized that crime is already declining in the nation’s capital, President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is taking over the police department in Washington and activating 800 soldiers of the National Guard in an effort to reduce crime.
The president announced a public safety emergency and the removal of homeless encampments by his administration, accompanied by his attorney general, defense secretary, and director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In addition to removing the slums, Trump said, “We’re going to take our capital back.”
Trump saw the attempt to seize control of Washington’s public safety as a continuation of his tough-on-law enforcement stance. Although he has not offered remedies to address the underlying causes of homelessness or crime, the District of Columbia’s status as a congressionally formed federal district offers him a special chance to advance his tough-on-crime agenda.
Trump blasted potholes and graffiti in the city, calling them disgraceful, and announced that Attorney General Pam Bondi will take over the Metro Police Department. The president has 30 days under the statute to take control of the police department, but he did not specify a timeframe.
Trump notably mentioned Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old Granby student who was shot dead on the street close to the White House in late June while attending the University of Massachusetts.
Tarpinian-Jachym was an intern for U.S. Representative Ron Estes in the nation’s Capitol.
Trump wrote to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, “The two embassy staffers who were killed in May, the Congressional intern who was shot dead a short distance from the White House in June, and the Administration staffer who was brutally beaten by a violent mob days ago are all examples of how the local government of the District of Columbia has lost control of public order and safety in the city.”
Protesters gathered outside the White House Monday morning to voice their disapproval of Trump’s actions. Additionally, local authorities denounced the Republican president’s portrayal of the district as rife with crime as unlawful.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb of the District of Columbia stated that the administration’s actions are illegal, needless, and unprecedented. The District of Columbia is not experiencing a crime emergency.
According to Democrat Schwalb, violent crime in the district is down another 26% this year after hitting 30-year lows last year.
While acknowledging that Trump’s actions were a reason why the District of Columbia should have legislative protections against similar measures, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser stated that she will abide by the law in regards to the so-called emergency.
Even though this behavior is disturbing and unprecedented, Bowser stated, “I can’t say that we’re totally surprised given some of the rhetoric of the past.”
Despite his desire to have more armed officers patrol the city in an effort to lower crime, the president rejected the notion that Washington needed to increase its 3,500-officer police force.
According to him, you need laws and regulations and the correct individuals to carry them out.
In order for his government to assume control of the city’s police department, Trump issued an executive order citing Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to declare a crime emergency. He gave Hegseth the order to call in the National Guard.
Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot in the U.S. Capitol, including those found guilty of assaulting police officers, despite his portrayal as a friend of law enforcement and the political support of many of their organizations.
According to a person familiar with the situation, Trump is attempting to fight crime by assigning roughly 500 federal law enforcement agents to patrol the nation’s capital, The Associated Press said.
According to the individual briefed on the plans, federal law enforcement officials are being assigned to patrols in Washington, including over 100 FBI agents and roughly 40 agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Contributing officers include the Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The individual, who spoke to the AP under the condition of anonymity, was not permitted to discuss personnel matters in public. On Monday morning, the Justice Department did not immediately respond.
Democrat Bowser has previously questioned the efficacy of employing the National Guard to police local laws, arguing that the federal government would be considerably more helpful if it funded more prosecutors or filled the 15 vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court, some of which have been unfilled for years.
Bowser can ask the Pentagon to activate the National Guard, but she is unable to do so herself.
She acknowledged that the president has the last say on how to employ the Guard, saying on Sunday on MSNBC’s The Weekend, “I just think that’s not the most efficient use of our Guard.”
Bowser pointed out that after increasing in 2023, violent crime in Washington had subsequently declined. During a press conference on Monday, she emphasized that she thought Trump’s perception of the city was influenced by the difficult coronavirus pandemic years, when he had to deal with protests and a rise in crime as the nation started to recover from the outbreak.
Trump has stressed the need to remove the homeless population from Washington, but he did not provide specifics during his press conference, and it was unclear where the thousands of individuals would go.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump stated that the homeless must leave immediately. We will provide lodging for you, although it will be far from the capital. You don’t have to leave, Criminals. You will be placed in the appropriate jail.
Following the recent attack of a prominent member of the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump claimed last week that he was thinking about methods for the federal government to take over Washington, claiming that crime was absurd and the city was dangerous.
According to police data, there have been fewer homicides, robberies, and burglaries this year than there were at this time in 2024. When compared to this time last year, violent crime has decreased by 26% overall.
The attack on Edward Coristine, one of the most well-known representatives of the DOGE bureaucracy-cutting initiative, appears to have triggered the president’s criticism of the region, which he described as being full with tents, poverty, filth, and crime. In connection with the attempted carjacking, police detained two 15-year-olds and stated they were searching for others.
