D.C. mayor calls for statehood as National Guard troops arrive in city
Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said Tuesday her district should become a state as National Guard troops arrived in the capital.
"It's times like these when America needs to know that DC should be the 51st state," Bowser said in an X post, which also contained a clip of her being interviewed on the "Breakfast Club" iHeartMedia radio program.
"We think this action kind of plays into his narrative on cities, about using force, about being tough on crime" Bowser said in regard to President Donald Trump's reasons for sending the national guard into the capital and placing city police under federal control.
Despite crime being generally down throughout the district, about 800 soldiers have been stationed in the district after being activated by the U.S. Army on Monday to assist with law enforcement, and Bowser has pledged to work "side by side" with the federal government as Trump's directive rolls out.
Trump put forth a memorandum Monday titled "Restoring Law and Order in the District of Columbia," in which he stated that "As President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the District of Columbia National Guard, it is my solemn duty to protect law-abiding citizens from the destructive forces of criminal activity."
He then mentioned recent high-profile crimes as the impetus behind his decision to mobilize the District of Columbia National Guard and order them to "address the epidemic of crime in our Nation's capital."
Trump said in the directive that the mobilization will continue until he determines that "conditions of law and order have been restored in the District of Columbia."
However, despite that open-ended statement, the troops have already been notified their deployment will last until Sept. 25.
According to the district's Metropolitan Police Department crime statistics, the level of every categorized offense committed there has dropped since last year, except motor vehicle theft which has a flat change rate of 0%.
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