Trump deploys army reserves to Washington DC and takes control of local police
At a press conference at the White House today, Trump claimed crime in the Democrat-run capital city was at its worst in years – despite data from the local police department claiming that
violent crime reports are at their lowest in 30 years
.
Using legislation granting Washington DC control of itself, the Home Rule Act, Trump evoked
an emergency section of the law that allows him to direct and overrule police management
.
He also confirmed that the National Guard, a state-based military force of army reserve personnel, would be deployed. He claimed violent crime and robberies had reached record levels, quoting data published over two years ago.
'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people. And we're going to let it happen anymore, we're not going to take it,' Trump said.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said that there are other elements of the army, outside the National Guard, that his department is 'ready to bring in', including specialist Army teams.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said that there are other elements of the army that his department is "ready to bring in".
Alamy
Alamy
Hegseth added: 'They will be strong, they will be tough, and they will stand with their law enforcement partners [...] We will work with all DC police and other law enforcement to ensure this city is safe, that this city is beautiful.'
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said: 'Let me be clear. Crime in DC is ending and ending today. We are going to use every power we have to fight criminals here.'
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She claimed that families visiting and living in the city have felt unsafe in recent years.
Weekly releases from the Metropolitan police department in Washington DC dispute claims that crime is on the rise in the city. Though data only reflects the number of reported crimes,
there has been a decrease in almost every category this year
.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi named a number of White House-appointees who will take control of the different wings of law enforcement in the city.
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Alamy
Bondi named a number of White House-appointees – including herself, FBI director Kash Patel and the assistant US attorney general Todd Blanche – who will be involved in the federal control of the different wings of law enforcement in the city.
It is the latest incident of the White House using Presidential Executive Orders to take control of typically locally-run issues. The US president listed a number of international cities, including Baghdad in Iraq, that allegedly have lower crime rates than DC.
He did not cite any evidence for these claims, and repeatedly made unsubstantiated allegations that new statistics from DC – which show falling reported crime rates – have been falsified.
The US President named a number of other Democrat-controlled cities in the US – including Chicago, New York and Baltimore – that he alleged had high crime rates. Trump said similar crackdowns would take place in the future.
He added: 'We're not going to lose our cities over this. This will go further, we're starting with DC. And we're going to clean it up real quick – very quickly, as they say.'
Trump later told reporters: 'We're going to look at New York, let's do this. Let's do this together. It's going to take a little while, but let's do this quickly. If we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago.'
Trump expressed support to remove homeless people from the city, after he
told them to leave yesterday
. Home affairs minister, or US Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum said federal park rangers have gained more power to remove temporary camps.
The US President went on to recall a number of previously-reported incidents that have happened in Washington DC over the last two years, including attacks on and crimes against White House and Congressional staff members.
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