DC residents protest as White House says federal agents will be on patrol 24/7
After law enforcement set up a vehicle checkpoint along the busy 14th Street Northwest corridor, hecklers shouted, 'Go home, fascists' and 'Get off our streets.' Some protesters stood at the intersection before the checkpoint and urged drivers to turn away from it.
The action intensified a few days after President Donald Trump's unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the city's police department for at least a month.
10 Protesters take to the streets holding signs near a traffic checkpoint run by Homeland Security agents and Washington Metropolitan Police officers along 14th Street in northwest Washington, DC, on Aug. 13, 2025.
AP
The city's Democratic mayor walked a political tightrope, referring to the takeover as an 'authoritarian push' at one point and later framing the infusion of officers as boost to public safety, though one with few specific barometers for success.
The Republican president has said crime in the city was at emergency levels that only such federal intervention could fix — even as District of Columbia leaders pointed to statistics showing violent crime at a 30-year low after a sharp rise two years ago.
For two days, small groups of federal officers had been visible in scattered areas of the city.
But more were present in high-profile locations Wednesday and troops were expected to start doing more missions in Washington on Thursday, according to a National Guard spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the planning process.
On Wednesday, agents from Homeland Security Investigations patrolled the popular U Street corridor.
Drug Enforcement Administration officers were seen on the National Mall, while National Guard members were parked nearby.
10 Federal agents and DC Metro Police conduct a traffic checkpoint on Aug. 13, 2025.
AP
10 Protesters yell at federal agents on 14th Street during a joint checkpoint operation.
AP
DEA agents also joined Metropolitan Police Department officers on patrol in the Navy Yard neighborhood, while FBI agents stood along the heavily trafficked Massachusetts Avenue.
Hundreds of federal law enforcement and city police officers who patrolled the streets Tuesday night made 43 arrests, compared with about two dozen the night before.
DC Councilmember Christina Henderson downplayed the arrest reports as 'a bunch of traffic stops' and said the administration was seeking to disguise how unnecessary this federal intervention is.
'I'm looking at this list of arrests and they sound like a normal Saturday night in any big city,' said Henderson.
10 A protester holds up a white sign that reads 'ICE' warning drivers of a traffic checkpoint up the road.
AP
10 Metropolitan police detain a driver during the joint checkpoint on Aug. 13, 2025, on 14th Street in Washington, DC.
AP
Unlike in other US states and cities, the law gives Trump the power to take over Washington's police for up to 30 days.
Extending his power over the city for longer would require approval from Congress, and that could be tough in the face of Democratic resistance.
Trump suggested he could seek a longer period of control or decide to call on Congress to exercise authority over city laws his administration sees as lax on crime.
'We're gonna do this very quickly. But we're gonna want extensions. I don't want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I will,' he said.
10 Metro Police and Homeland Security Investigations agents search the vehicle of a person detained during a traffic stop in Washington DC.
REUTERS
10 A driver is handcuffed by Metro Transit police during a traffic stop for a driver's license issue.
REUTERS
Later, on his Truth Social site, Trump reiterated his claims about the capital, writing, 'DC has been under siege from thugs and killers, but now, DC is back under Federal Control where it belongs.'
Henderson, who worked for Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York before running for the DC Council, said she was already in touch with 'friends on the Hill' to rally opposition for any Trump extension request. She added, 'It's Day Three and he's already saying he's going to need more time?'
Targeting a variety of infractions
The arrests made by 1,450 federal and local officers across the city included those for suspicion of driving under the influence and unlawful entry, as well as a warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, according to the White House.
Seven illegal firearms were seized.
10 National Guard members gather at the US Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility after their deployment in Washington DC on Aug. 13, 2025.
REUTERS
There have now been more than 100 arrests since Trump began beefing up the federal law enforcement presence in Washington last week, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.
'President Trump is delivering on his campaign promise to clean up this city and restore American Greatness to our cherished capital,' she said.
The president has full command of the National Guard and has activated up to 800 troops to support law enforcement, though exactly what form remains to be determined.
Neither Army nor District of Columbia National Guard officials have been able to describe the training backgrounds of the troops who have so far reported for duty.
While some members are military police, others likely hold jobs that would have offered them little training in dealing with civilians or law enforcement.
The federalization push also includes clearing out encampments for people who are homeless, Trump has said.
US Park Police have removed dozens of tents since March, and plan to take out two more this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.
People are offered the chance to go to shelters and get addiction treatment, if needed, but those who refuse could be fined or jailed, she said.
City officials said they are making more shelter space available and increasing their outreach.
10 Police officers search the bag of a driver detained during a traffic stop.
REUTERS
10 Metropolitan Police and Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents set up a traffic checkpoint along 14th Street on Aug. 13, 2025.
AP
Violent crime has dropped in the district
The federal effort comes even after a drop in violent crime in the nation's capital, a trend that experts have seen in cities across the US since an increase during the coronavirus pandemic.
On average, the level of violence Washington remains mostly higher than averages in three dozen cities analyzed by the nonprofit Council on Criminal Justice, said the group's president and CEO, Adam Gelb.
Police Chief Pamela Smith said during an interview with the local Fox affiliate that the city's Metro Police Department has been down nearly 800 officers. She said the increased number of federal agents on the streets would help fill that gap, at least for now.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said city officials did not get any specific goals for the surge during a meeting with Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, and other top federal law enforcement officials Tuesday. But, she said, 'I think they regard it as a success to have more presence and take more guns off the street, and we do too.'
She had previously called Trump's moves 'unsettling and unprecedented' while pointing out he was within a president's legal rights regarding the district, which is the seat of American government but is not a state.
For some residents, the increased presence of law enforcement and National Guard troops is nerve-wracking.
'I've seen them right here at the subway … they had my street where I live at blocked off yesterday, actually,' Washington native Sheina Taylor said. 'It's more fearful now because even though you're a law-abiding citizen, here in DC, you don't know, especially because I'm African American.'
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The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
100 days of Pope Leo XIV: a calm papacy that avoids polemics is coming into focus
VATICAN CITY (AP) — When Pope Leo XIV surprised tens of thousands of young people at a recent Holy Year celebration with an impromptu popemobile romp around St. Peter's Square, it almost seemed as if some of the informal spontaneity that characterized Pope Francis' 12-year papacy had returned to the Vatican. But the message Leo delivered that night was all his own: In seamless English, Spanish and Italian, Leo told the young people that they were the 'salt of the Earth, the light of the world.' He urged them to spread their hope, faith in Christ and their cries of peace wherever they go. As Robert Prevost marks his 100th day as Pope Leo this weekend, the contours of his pontificate have begun to come into relief, primarily where he shows continuity with Francis and where he signals change. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that after 12 sometimes turbulent years under Francis, a certain calm and reserve have returned to the papacy. Leo seems eager above all to avoid polemics or making the papacy about himself, and wants instead to focus on Christ and peace. That seems exactly what many Catholic faithful want, and may respond to what today's church needs. 'He's been very direct and forthright … but he's not doing spontaneous press hits,' said Kevin Hughes, chair of theology and religious studies at Leo's alma mater, Villanova University. Leo has a different style than Francis, and that has brought relief to many, Hughes said in a telephone interview. 'Even those who really loved Pope Francis always kind of held their breath a little bit: You didn't know what was going to come out next or what he was going to do,' Hughes said. An effort to avoid polemics Leo has certainly gone out of his way in his first 100 days to try to heal divisions that deepened during Francis' pontificate, offering messages of unity and avoiding controversy at almost every turn. Even his signature issue — confronting the promise and peril posed by artificial intelligence — is something that conservatives and progressives alike agree is important. Francis' emphasis on caring for the environment and migrants often alienated conservatives. Closer to home, Leo offered the Holy See bureaucracy a reassuring, conciliatory message after Francis' occasionally authoritarian style rubbed some in the Vatican the wrong way. 'Popes come and go, but the Curia remains,' Leo told Vatican officials soon after his May 8 election. Continuity with Francis is still undeniable Leo, though, has cemented Francis' environmental legacy by celebrating the first-ever ecologically inspired Mass. He has furthered that legacy by giving the go-ahead for the Vatican to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome into a vast solar farm that should generate enough electricity to meet Vatican City's needs and turn it into the world's first carbon-neutral state. He has fine-tuned financial transparency regulations that Francis initiated, tweaked some other decrees to give them consistency and logic, and confirmed Francis in deciding to declare one of the 19th century's most influential saints, John Henry Newman, a 'doctor' of the church. But he hasn't granted any sit-down, tell-all interviews or made headline-grabbing, off-the-cuff comments like his predecessor did. He hasn't made any major appointments, including to fill his old job, or taken any big trips. In marking the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki last week, he had a chance to match Francis' novel declaration that the mere possession of nuclear weapons was 'immoral.' But he didn't. Compared to President Donald Trump, the other American world leader who took office in 2025 with a flurry of Sharpie-penned executive decrees, Leo has eased into his new job slowly, deliberately and quietly, almost trying not to draw attention to himself. At 69, he seems to know that he has time on his side, and that after Francis' revolutionary papacy, the church might need a bit of a breather. One Vatican official who knows Leo said he expects his papacy will have the effect of a 'calming rain' on the church. Maria Isabel Ibarcena Cuarite, a Peruvian member of a Catholic charismatic group, said it was precisely Leo's quiet emphasis on church traditions, its sacraments and love of Christ, that drew her and upward of 1 million young people to Rome for a special Jubilee week this month. Ibarcena said Francis had confused young people like herself with his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and approval of blessings for same-sex couples. Such gestures went beyond what a pope was supposed to do and what the church taught, she thought. Leo, she said, has emphasized that marriage is a sacrament between men and woman. 'Francis was ambiguous, but he is firm,' she said. An Augustinian pope From his very first appearance on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Leo has insisted he is first and foremost a 'son of St. Augustine. ' It was a reference to the fifth century theological and devotional giant of early Christianity, St. Augustine of Hippo, who inspired the 13th century religious Augustinian order as a community of 'mendicant' friars. Like the other big mendicant orders of the early church — the Franciscans, Dominicans and Carmelites — the Augustinians spread across Christian Europe over the centuries. Today, Augustinian spirituality is rooted in a deep interior life of prayer, living in community, and journeying together in search of truth in God. In nearly every speech or homily since his May 8 election, Leo has cited Augustine in one way or another. 'I see a kind of Augustinian flavor in the way that he's presenting all these things,' said Hughes, the theology professor who is an Augustine scholar. Leo joined the Augustinians after graduating from Augustinian-run Villanova, outside Philadelphia, and was twice elected its prior general. He has visited the Augustinian headquarters outside St. Peter's a few times since his election, and some wonder if he will invite some brothers to live with him in the Apostolic Palace to recreate the spirit of Augustinian community life there. A missionary pope in the image of Francis Leo is also very much a product of the Francis papacy. Francis named Prevost bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014 and then moved him to head one of the most important Vatican jobs in 2023 — vetting bishop nominations. In retrospect, it seems Francis had his eye on Prevost as a possible successor. Given Francis' stump speech before the 2013 conclave that elected him pope, the then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio essentially described Prevost in identifying the church's mission today: He said the church was 'called to go outside of itself and go to the peripheries, not just geographic but also the existential peripheries.' Prevost, who hails from Chicago, spent his adult life as a missionary in Peru, eventually becoming bishop of Chiclayo. 'He is the incarnation of the 'unity of difference,' because he comes from the center, but he lives in the peripheries,' said Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Cuda said during a recent conference hosted by Georgetown University that Leo encapsulated in 'word and gesture' the type of missionary church Francis promoted. That said, for all Leo owes to Bergoglio, the two didn't necessarily get along. Prevost has recounted that at one point when he was the Augustinian superior, the then-archbishop of Buenos Aires expressed interest in assigning an Augustinian priest to a specific job in his archdiocese. 'And I, as prior general, said 'I understand, Your Eminence, but he's got to do something else' and so I transferred him somewhere else,' Prevost told parishioners in his home state of Illinois in 2024. Prevost said he 'naively' thought the Francis wouldn't remember him after his 2013 election, and that regardless 'he'll never appoint me bishop' due to the disagreement. Bergoglio not only made him bishop, he laid the groundwork for Prevost to succeed him as pope, the first North American pope following the first South American.
CNN
2 minutes ago
- CNN
Live updates: Trump-Putin summit ends without concrete deal on Ukraine
Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Analysis: No deal in Alaska, but Putin still walks away with some big wins Content: Ukraine could have had a worse night. No deal was cooked up without them. US President Donald Trump looked upset and tired. Perhaps because Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared unbowed, still talking about the 'root causes' of the war, and sounding unreformed. In what sounded like a threat, he even warned Kyiv and its European allies to not meddle in whatever ongoing process he believes he has dragged Trump into. 'We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive all this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles, will not make attempts to disrupt the emerging progress through provocations and behind-the-scenes intrigues,' Putin said. Trump's call to Kyiv and its NATO allies may present some sort of framework that Putin deemed an 'agreement,' but ultimately in the look on Trump's face and his words, it was clear he made no significant deal that he thinks will fly. The two didn't even have lunch together and Putin raced out on his plane. The hardest bits of negotiations are the bits that are left to be agreed at the end. And Trump's statement that there were some 'big' things left unsolved suggests little movement on issues like what land Putin wants and a ceasefire. But there are two big wins here for Putin. First, the remarkable vision of a red carpet welcome to the United States and a ride in 'the Beast' — which both present as an extraordinary form of reputational rehabilitation for an alleged war criminal. It was a horrific sight for many Ukrainians; soured further still by the Kremlin head calling Ukraine a 'brotherly' nation, despite murdering its civilians for three and a half years. The second win is time. Putin has bought more for his forces to advance across the frontline. It is unclear if Trump is sufficiently riled that secondary sanctions may follow in the days ahead. But Putin did not seem to behave as if he was in a hurry, suggesting further meetings and ongoing work. Time matters as Putin's summer offensive is close to turning incremental gains into strategic wins. In the end, Ukraine will wake up with its world unchanged. A ghastly world, but with no sudden US-Russian rapprochement or deal to try and swallow. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Key lines from Trump and Putin's joint press briefing Content: No one really knows what Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed yesterday during their lengthy summit in Alaska, as the two did not take questions from reporters after a joint news briefing. But the closed-door talks were ultimately characterized positively by both leaders, even though a critical deal on ending the war in Ukraine was not reached. Here are key lines from the briefing that you should know: Breaking tradition: Putin began remarks at the briefing by acknowledging that US-Russia relations have suffered in recent years. Usually when an American president hosts a foreign counterpart, a joint news conference would begin with remarks from the US leader followed by his guest. Progress on reaching a deal: Trump said he and Putin 'made some headway' and 'great progress' in their bilateral meeting. Still, he added, 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' Putin said the primary causes of the war must be eliminated for the war in Ukraine to end. The Russian leader also told Ukrainian and European leaders not to interfere with 'the emerging progress.' Positive summary: Negotiations between Putin and Trump were held in a 'respectful, constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere,' Putin said. Trump said they had 'an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to.' Other topics mentioned: Putin said he agrees that the security of Ukraine should be ensured. He also claimed at one point that the war in Ukraine would not have happened had Trump been president in 2022. What's next: Trump said he has various calls to make following the summit — some of which include calls to NATO, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other appropriate officials. CNN's Aditi Sangal, Nina Subkhanberdina, Darya Tarasova, Michael Rios, Kit Maher, Tori B. Powell, Kevin Liptak, Katharina Krebs, Mitchell McCluskey, and Adam Cancryn contributed reporting. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Trump says striking a deal now up to Zelensky Content: President Donald Trump is putting the onus on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate a ceasefire, saying yesterday evening that there would soon be a meeting set up between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'Now it's really up to President Zelensky to get it done,' Trump said in a Fox News interview following his sitdown with Putin in Alaska. 'They're going to set up a meeting now between President Zelensky and President Putin and myself, I guess.' Trump during the interview declined to detail the final issues that are holding up a deal, saying only that he wants 'to see what we can get done.' But despite not reaching an agreement on yesterday, he touted the summit as a success, ranking the meeting a 10 out of 10, 'in the sense that we got along great.' 'I want to make sure it gets done,' he added. 'And we have a pretty good chance of getting it done.' Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Analysis: Russian media ecstatic as US rolls out the red carpet for Putin Content: In Russia, the reaction to the summit between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump has been more than positive. Russian media was ecstatic when the Russian leader received applause from the US president as the red carpet was literally rolled out for Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. 'For years they have been talking about the isolation of Russia, and today they saw the red carpet that greeted the Russian president,' Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry wrote on social media. While both Trump and Putin said agreements have been reached, it's unclear what exactly those are. Meanwhile, Putin does not appear to have backed down from Russia's core demands. The Russian leader in his remarks after the meeting said any deal needs 'to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia and to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world on the whole.' It's not clear how much progress was made toward a ceasefire in Ukraine, but both Trump and Putin have said they ultimately want to normalize relations between the US and Russia and they want to meet again. 'Next time in Moscow,' Russia's leader said. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Eastern European officials react with skepticism to Putin's comments Content: Senior government officials in Eastern Europe have reacted with skepticism to comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Alaska summit. While saying he was interested in ending the conflict, Putin said the primary causes needed to be 'eliminated' for that to happen, adding that the 'situation in Ukraine' had to do with 'fundamental threats to (Russia's) security.' In a post on X on Saturday morning local time, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene accused Putin of 'more gaslighting and veiled threats,' a reference to the Russian leader issuing a warning to Ukraine and Europe not to 'sabotage' progress made at the summit. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in a statement that he welcomed US President Donald Trump's efforts but doubted Putin's interest in a deal, according to Reuters. 'If Putin were serious about negotiating peace, he would not have been attacking Ukraine all day today,' he said. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: US and Russia to continue building relations despite "resistance," top Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev says Content: Russia's top economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the US received Russia 'very well' in Alaska and that the two countries would continue building relations despite 'resistance.' 'The US-Russia summit in Alaska has definitely been productive,' Dmitriev said, adding that there were 'lots of issues that we discussed and many we agreed.' 'Some of them are to be agreed and definitely it's very important that President (Donald) Trump outlines a significant economic potential of cooperation between the US and Russia,' Dmitriev said. 'We will continue building US-Russia relations going forward despite lots of the resistance to this, but we will continue strengthening US-Russia ties.' Update: Date: 21 min ago Title: "It was positive that there was no deal," CNN's Fareed Zakaria says Content: The red-carpet welcome in Alaska for Russian President Vladimir Putin signals that US President Donald Trump 'thinks Putin is, you know, an equal,' says CNN's Fareed Zakaria. Trump treated Putin like 'this big shot on the world stage, and he's been treated by the rest of the west as a kind of pariah,' Zakaria said, referring to an ICC war crimes warrant issued for the Russian president's arrest that restricts his movements around the globe. 'So there was a lot of the atmospherics that were cringeworthy,' he said. However, Zakaria said that in his analysis, 'it was a positive that there was no deal.'I think everyone was worried that there was going to be a deal in which Trump was going to make major concessions. I don't think anyone thought Putin was going to make any concessions. The fear was that Donald Trump was going to cave in the various ways — sell out Ukraine, sell out Europeans. And he didn't do that. And so I think, you know, I'm at least relieved,' Zakaria said. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Trump and Putin skipped Q&A because 'exhaustive statements were made,' Kremlin spokesperson says Content: US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin skipped answering questions at yesterday's joint news conference because their statements said it all, according to the Kremlin's spokesperson. 'Exhaustive statements were made,' Dmitry Peskov said when asked why the two leaders only delivered remarks at the news conference, according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. 'The conversation is really very positive, and the two presidents spoke about it. This is the very conversation that allows us to confidently continue moving forward together on the path of seeking resolution options,' Peskov said, RIA reported. Update: Date: 11 min ago Title: Trump says he and Putin made "great progress" toward a deal and that he's calling Zelensky and NATO leaders Content: US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin 'made some headway' and 'great progress' in their bilateral meeting, but added that 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' 'I will call up NATO in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate. And I'll, of course, call up President [Volodymyr] Zelensky and tell him about today's meeting. It's ultimately up to them,' Trump said after today's summit in Anchorage, Alaska.'We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,' Trump said, adding, 'We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.' Trump added that Ukraine would have to 'agree' with what Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and others in his administration discussed with Putin today, though he did not delve into specifics on any framework for a deal. Trump and Putin took no questions after their statements. Putin kicked of remarks and spoke for about eight minutes. Trump, who is known for typically longer and at times free-wheeling news conferences, only spoke for about four minutes. 'I'm going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened,' Trump said.
Bloomberg
2 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump's Alaska Summit Brings Putin in From the Cold
Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven't yet, sign up here. So much for Donald Trump's threat to 'walk out' if he felt he was getting played or the 'severe consequences' that would rain down on Russia if Vladimir Putin refused his demand for a ceasefire in Ukraine at their summit in Alaska. Instead, Trump rolled out the red carpet for the Russian president, posed with him as a B-2 stealth bomber and fighter jets flew over their heads, then beckoned him into his armored limousine.
