President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday declaring a crime emergency in Washington, D.C. As part of the order, the federal government will take over operational control of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (DCPD) and activate 800 National Guard troops.
According to the Home Rule Act, the 1973 law which established local control over the nation’s capital, the President can at any time federalize the police department for up to 30 days – an authority Trump has now exercised. The move comes following a week of Trump hinting that he may make the move as episodes of rampant lawlessness, particularly from gangs of unruly teenagers, continue to make headlines.
Trump held a press conference on Monday, announcing his executive order and proclaiming the day as “Liberation Day in D.C.” The Trump administration will now have the opportunity to enact a tough-on-crime policing policy and ideally provide a clear contrast to the chaos and violence that are indicative of liberal-run cities.
In addition to the executive order, Trump issued a memorandum ordering Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to mobilize the District of Columbia National Guard to patrol the city. Hegseth will also coordinate with state governors to authorize additional National Guard personnel as needed. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that the U.S. Park Police will be deployed to defend the city’s monuments.
Hegseth explained at the press conference that residents in the area will begin to see troops patrolling the city soon.
“You will see them flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week,” Hegseth said. “There are other units we are prepared to bring in. Other National Guard units, other specialized units – they will be strong. They will be tough, and they will stand with their law enforcement partners.”
As Trump was speaking, protestors began gathering outside the White House, and Democrats quickly took to social media to object to the decision. D.C. City Councilman Charles Allen posted on X that federalizing DCPD is an “extreme, outrageous, and dangerous move.” Notably, as one X user pointed out in response, Allen backed efforts to defund DCPD in 2020 – directly leading to a spike in crime.
Allen also posted that D.C. “experienced a 52% drop in violent crime and is now at a 30-year low” – claims echoed by other high-profile Democrats like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
However, there is ample reason to doubt those statistics. Last month, the DCPD announced that a police commander had been placed on administrative leave for allegedly falsifying crime data to make the crime rate appear lower than it actually is in the city. The law enforcement union Fraternal Order of Police has also disagreed with the lower crime statistics in Washington, D.C., with reports from police officers that their supervisors have them write down a lesser offense than what actually occurred.
“When our members respond to the scene of a felony offense where there is a victim reporting that a felony occurred, inevitably there will be a lieutenant or a captain that will show up on that scene and direct those members to take a report for a lesser offense,” Fraternal Order of Police Chairman Gregg Pemberton said to NBC Washington. “So, instead of taking a report for a shooting or a stabbing or a carjacking, they will order that officer to take a report for a theft or an injured person to the hospital or a felony assault, which is not the same type of classification.”
The head of the D.C. Police Union has praised Trump’s actions. “We stand with the President in recognizing that Washington, D.C., cannot continue on this trajectory,” union chair Gregg Pemberton said in a statement. “Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits. The federal intervention is a critical stopgap, but the MPD needs proper staffing and support to thrive.”
There have been several instances of government employees being killed or attacked in the city this year. In May, two Jewish staff members of the Israeli embassy were shot and killed outside of the Capital Jewish Museum. In June, an intern for Kansas Republican Rep. Ron Estes was shot and killed near the White House.
Earlier this month, a staff member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) within the White House was assaulted and injured by a group of juveniles. Over this past weekend, a juvenile was arrested after firing shots into a crowd during an unruly gathering of teens in the city’s Navy Yard neighborhood, where many Trump administration staffers live.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
It is about time. The Left in DC have totally ruined the nation’s capital with its pettiness. Not safe in either day of night. Now protesting that the President Trump had to issue an edict taking over the police so lawfulness can be obtained. With the shortage of officers and expected “paid” protestors, the President is wisely bringing the National Guard. It will be interesting to see if Maryland will participate with its NG. Democrats issuing protests through their controlled MSM sites. This just another example to wonder how half the nation has lost its way through the false and misleading rhetoric of the Demos.
Que the misguided mainstream malignant media mouthpieces of the democrat establishment.
The truth to the left is like sunlight and wooden stakes to Dracula.
All of America’s largest blue monopoly cities—Washington Dc, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles—are in freefall.
Crime is surging.
These cities were once symbols of American greatness.
Now they represent what happens when greatness is revised down:
To be successful is seen as greed
Where class envy ideology overtakes common sense
Compassion gets twisted into socialist cronyism.
Equal laws and equal justice means no penalty for a fair chance to succeed or to fail.
That’s the foundation of a healthy nation.
When nations reject that, then decline, destruction, and homelessness is inevitable.
Should be done nation wide till the non Americans are rounded up and shipped out period that’s my opinion period
I LOVE the executive order, but I suspect that, when I watch NEWSMAX or RAV tonight or tomorrow, the news scrolling on the lower TV screen will report that some scum-sucking liberal judge has blocked President Trump’s EO in favor of the criminals.
I am so disheartened by all the crimes against persons, even the killings, and our lawmakers and prosecutors cannot seem to find the perps, a suitable consequence. Where there is no punishment, there will be more of the same. Now, I want to hear more of treating these young criminals like what they are, CRIMINAS.
We’re paying waay too much for the justice we’re not getting.
Another day of painful meltdowns for the America-hating left-wing liberals, their lying and vile mouthpiece, the Fake News media, and how this will bring out more dirty corrupt judges that will try to stop him.
I can predict how all Fake News networks will spin this wonderful news: Democracy is crumbling; Trump’s EO is illegal and unconstitutional; Trump is violating the Bill of Rights; Trump is a Nazi and a dictator; blah blah BLAH….
Truly, they are ALL America’s ENEMIES WITHIN.
Fantastic, President Trump has now set his sites on the destroying the demonic corrupt Luciferian Nazi democrat pedophiles strong hold! They won’t last much longer!
The problem is in Illinois we are only 90 miles from Chicago and a lot of the crime is filtering down to our small city. I have lived here for 70 years and never have seen the crime as in the past decade. We never had a child missing, as far as I know in the entire history of this city, in the last few years we have had more gone missing. We need the corrupt leaders of the big cities brought to justice and free many of the blue states from tyranny, because that is what it is. No one really believes the democrats win the elections in this state, but we never seem to be able to bring the truth to light. So we voters get blames for our state being the way it is and that is simply not true.
In NYC arrests in some districts are up, but crimes are down. How does that happen? Soft on crime DAs either don’t prosecute or downgrade the offense. Liberal politicians crow about lower rates of crime, but people don’t feel that jives with what they experience.
Just have to wonder how many of these “Protesters” were paid by George Soros and other dark money. Same protesters that were there for Palestine and BLM, etc stc ect???
I would bet money on it!!!
We about to see what one month of cleanup can do for DC.
It’s amazing how the MSM still insists that crime is down in these liberal blue cities. Crime may be down for last year but that’s only because Trump is in office and there’s a different atmosphere, criminals aren’t as brazen and there are less illegals committing crimes. Overall, crime is disgustingly high in these cities, to the point where people have just gotten used to the high crime rate. The problem is that the politicians in these areas would rather innocent people be victims of crime, than criminals go to jail, simply to pander to votes and use race as the great separator.
When we have scads of underage males roaming the cities at 2 in the morning and police nowhere to be seen I’d say something is not right. Where are the parents, has anyone ever addressed this issue? To bring back the law and order and police presence would be a good start, there would not be need for the National guard to which the left objects. Instead of investing in diversity programs and other imbecilities multiply the presence of the cops on the street at night and hold the parents responsible. Someone has to be in charge here and it can’t be the punks.
I live in the metro Detroit area and while there isn’t a day that someone doesn’t get shot, the numbers are down from previous years. The city has established a curfew for teens and juveniles and also punishes the parents if their kid is caught committing a crime and/or out after curfew. Around $200. All these kids have parent at some point and it is high time this country makes parents accountable for their bad/lack of parenting. Penalties for any crime should be increased and those committing them put away for a lot longer. These kids need to stay in school all year and that would cut down on their free idle time.
It’s about time we did something to make DC a safe place to all those living there and visiting there! Let’s make Washington a picture perfect of safe environment for all those live or visit here!
The REAL reason crime is rampant in DC, like ALL Blue cities, is that DemoKKRAT politicians, judges, DA’s and juries get soft on mostly “minority” perps to keep them and their families voting DemoKKKRAT. Increasing the number of LEO’s is useless if the pols, judges, DA’s and juries keep turning the perps loose!
The Demorats were lying ? Who would have thought ? Snarc, snarc.
Media model for: Escape from NY 1981 movie for Fed Police
Thank you our President DJT. And thank you to all our DCPD. And thank you to all our National Guard going in. And I thank God for DJT. Stay safe y’all.
DC was a dump as far back as the 70’s
Thank you president Trump. Again he has shown leadership to return law and order to DC. The democrats tried to falsify the statistic so they could scream Trump is overreaching nothing to see here. 10 less killings when 170 have already occurred does not make. DC safe. President Trump talked for a week about that he might do this and the demicrats had their signs and protesters in place minutes after president Trump’s press briefing. They were ready to claim DC is beautiful nothing to see here. Typical communist tactic. The democrats showed with this incident they want lawlessness at any cost. Especially if they can get rid of white peoples in the process. Once DC is cleaned up and the city is safe again for those living, working and visiting DC, will the mayor and city council keep it that way or defund the police and or order them to stand down when crime happens, falsify police reports etc etc. Will the democrats tell the truth as to what really is going on? Don’t wait for an answer.
And the mayor of Washington DC screams reducing crime, unfairly targets criminals
Time they do their jobs so someone else doesn’t have to. JMO
If like most of the country, I assume a lot of the homeless are veterans & will they be taken care of differently or not. Does DC have a VA office ?
Someone needs to FIND ALL JAN 6th DOCUMENTS there and emails while they have a chance!!!
This is a slippery slope. While I agree crime needs to be dealt a blow and brought down, using the military in a republic is not a good plan. And what happens after, if ever, the military is called off? Crime is still there and the incompetent police and jelly-spined judges with weak-kneed juries are still there to let it surge again. Putting a band-aid on and hoping the gash will heal is not the answer. We need to return to a public willing to give the hard judgements and judges willing to carry them out and a law enforcement that feels like making an arrest is a worthwhile pursuit.
Yeah, awesome, screw the pesky Posse Comitatus laws and get the military out there beating some nappy heads.
But, what about those Epstein Files the President is said to be featured prominently in? Oh, he isn’t? Then release them as the President promised numerous times while on the campaign trail.
Trump said that FBI agents will be walking the streets & just what does that mean? Also, will be interesting to see how Trump is going to get rid of the homeless.