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Fear, confusion, resistance: One night under Trump's D.C. crackdown

Fear, confusion, resistance: One night under Trump's D.C. crackdown

Washington Post18 hours ago
An officer with Homeland Security Investigations speaks to bystanders on U Street NW in D.C. on Aug. 15. (Craig Hudson For The Washington Post)
A team of 'Post Reports' producers join Post reporter Olivia George for a Friday night out on U Street NW, a major hub for nightlight in the nation's capital and an area that has experienced one of the highest number of crimes reported this year. They speak with businesses, partygoers and workers to hear their experience during the first weekend since President Donald Trump's takeover of D.C.'s law enforcement. The changes in the nation's capital are palpable.
Trump announced the police takeover last week. He also sent in 800 National Guard troops with at least six Republican-led states agreeing to send hundreds of additional Guard troops. As more federal law enforcement and immigration officers take to the streets, setting up check points, arresting and detaining people, tensions have been growing in the city.
Trump has described his federal intervention in D.C. as a crusade against crime. In its first week, the main targets have increasingly been immigrants and those experiencing homelessness. Videos of local detainments have reverberated through group chats and social media.
Today's show was produced by Elana Gordon, Reena Flores, Sabby Robinson, Sean Carter and Thomas Lu with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Reena Flores and Renita Jablonski and mixed by Sean Carter. Special thanks to Craig Hudson, John Ramsey, Kaitlyn Dolan, Katie Mettler and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
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National Guard's chain of command runs from its commanding general, to the secretary of the Army, to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, to the president. U.S. soldiers from the West Virginia National Guard are deputized at the D.C. Armory as part of the 'D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force' in Washington on Aug. 19, 2025. Photo: Pfc. Nina Cortez/U.S. Army/Joint Task Force DC/DVIDS Late last month, the Trump administration authorized the deployment of National Guard troops to immigration facilities in 20 states. The National Guard will be deployed in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia, among other states. When he announced the D.C. deployment, Trump also threatened to carry out similar power grabs in numerous cities led by Democratic mayors in states with Democratic governors. 'If we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster,' Trump said. 'You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore. They're so far gone,' he continued. 'We're not going to let it happen. We're not going to lose our cities over this. And this will go further.' Homestead noted that governors from red states were now actively collaborating in Trump's authoritarian overreach. 'Republican governors are now voluntarily using federal tax dollars to militarize D.C. instead of addressing the needs of their constituents, who are some of the poorest in the country,' she said. Experts say that the increasing use of military forces in the interior of the U.S. represents an extraordinary violation of Posse Comitatus, a bedrock 19th-century law seen as fundamental to the democratic tradition in America. Critics warn that this might put the troops being deployed and their commanders at legal risk of prosecution down the line. Gen. Randy George and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Mike Weimer meet with soldiers from Joint Task Force–D.C., the National Guard response force, in Washington on Aug. 19, 2025. Photo: Sgt. Aaron Troutman/U.S. Army/Joint Task Force DC/DVIDS 'Through his manufactured emergency, President Trump is engaging in dangerous political theater to expand his power and sow fear in our communities. Sending heavily armed federal agents and National Guard troops from hundreds of miles away into our nation's capital is unnecessary, inflammatory, and puts people's rights at high risk of being violated,' said Hina Shamsi, the director of the ACLU's National Security Project. 'Governors need to understand that with each order, the Trump administration increases legal and ethical jeopardy for state troops being deployed. No matter what uniform they wear, federal agents and military troops are bound by the Constitution, including our rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech, due process, and safeguards against unlawful searches and seizures. If troops or federal agents violate our rights, they must be held accountable.' On Monday, Trump seemed close to declaring victory in D.C., although his triumphant tale involved unnamed persons calling him 'sir' — which has been identified as a key tell that Trump is lying. 'We went from the most unsafe place anywhere to a place that now people, friends are calling me up, Democrats are calling me up, and they're saying, 'Sir, I want to thank you,'' Trump claimed. ''My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years. And Washington, D.C., is safe. And you did that in four days.'' Trump said the military would help to 'liberate this City, scrape away the filth, and make it safe, clean, habitable and beautiful once more!' in a Truth Social post. State governors and National Guard officials have used similar but more moderate language. 'We stand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region and contribute to the collective effort of making our nation's capital a clean and safe environment,' said West Virginia Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Jim Seward in a statement. 'The National Guard's unique capabilities and preparedness make it an invaluable partner in this important undertaking.' Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson repeatedly emphasized that Guard members would be involved in 'area beautification' during a press briefing last week. The defense official expressed exasperation at the comments. 'I wish someone would have asked Kingsley when she said it,' said the official, noting that many people took it to mean that soldiers would be picking up trash. The Intercept then asked if it meant gardening. 'I don't imagine you'll see them necessarily planting flowers, but it could be,' said the official, who offered that troops might also 'do debris removal or something like that.'

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