Trump announces federal takeover of Washington law enforcement
Aug. 11 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump announced Monday that the federal government will take over law enforcement in Washington, including deploying the National Guard in the nation's capital.
Trump signed an executive order declaring crime an emergency in Washington.
Surrounded by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and other cabinet members, Trump announced in a press conference that the administration intends to crack down on violent crime.
"I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse," Trump said in the press conference.
"This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we're going to take our capital back."
The president said he's invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. He said the D.C. National Guard will deploy to fight crime, and he said he may deploy units from other states if needed.
On Friday, Trump announced that federal agents will begin enforcing crime in the city. The new patrols are led by the U.S. Park Police, and include agents from the U.S. Capitol Police, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, D.C. Metropolitan Police, Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies.
He announced that Attorney General Pam Bondi will take control of D.C. Metropolitan Police.
"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 not going to let it happen anymore," Trump said.
Metro police data released this month said violent crime rates have continued to fall in 2025, with violent crime down 26% year-over-year. Homicide rates have dropped 12%, sex abuse by 49%, assault with a dangerous weapon by 20% and robbery by 28%.
Trump, however, said, without explicitly identifying the person or providing details on the claim, that the administration was examining a person who claimed he was asked to falsify data.
"And we had a recent indication, and there was a story about a man who just left. He quit because he was asked to do phony numbers on crime, and we're going to look into that," he said. "I think Pam [Bondi] is going to be looking into that, but he was asked by the city, I guess we don't want to show the real numbers. Let me do numbers so it looks like it's going down, not going down, and under Biden, it was a disaster, and nobody did anything about it. We're going to do things about it like you wouldn't believe."
Trump mentioned that other U.S. cities are struggling with crime and indicated that Washington, won't be the last city that he might take over.
"And this will go further. We're starting very strongly with D.C., and we're going to clean it up real quick, very quickly, as they say," he said.
"I see too much violent crime being committed by young punks who think that they can get together in gangs and crews and beat the hell out of you or anyone else. They don't care where they are. They can be in Dupont Circle, but they know that we can't touch them. Why? Because the laws are weak. I can't touch you. If you're 14,15, 16,17- years-old, and you have a gun," U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said. "I convict someone of shooting another person with an illegal gun on a public bus in the chest intent to kill. I convict him. And you know what? The judge gives him probation and says, 'You should go to college.' We need to go after the D.C. council and their absurd laws. We need to get rid of this concept of, you know, no-cash bail."
On Sunday evening, a former DOGE employee was allegedly attacked near his car in the district, drawing criticism from the president.
Police arrested two 15-year-olds the next day. Pirro mentioned the incident.
"I did a poster of the young man from DOGE who was beaten, bloodied, with a severe concussion, a broken nose, and then I did a poster of what happens to those kids, because I can't arrest them. I can't prosecute them. They go to family court, and they get to do yoga and arts and crafts," Pirro said at the press conference.
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