Twenty-one-year-old Massachusetts native Eric Tarpinian-Jachym was beloved by his family. Eric overcame dyslexia and a heart condition to excel academically. Eric was the recipient of scholarships. Eric was pursuing a BBA in finance with a minor in political science. He was passionate about Latin, chess, and archery. This was the triumph of the human spirit.
Eric landed a coveted congressional internship at the office of U.S. congressman Ron Estes (R-Kan.). He had four years of varied government experience under his belt. He was regarded as ambitious and kindhearted by those who knew him, and he had a bright future before him.
Alas, fate had another plan. On the night of June 30, 2025, while returning home, Eric was gunned down when caught in the crossfire during a gang shootout. The sorrow that Eric’s family must be going through due to this shocking and irreparable loss is unimaginable.
The world sees the U.S. as the only superpower. Yet it is the capital of this very superpower, just miles away from the official residence of the head of state, where murderous armed gangs operated with impunity. This was a blatant dereliction of duty on the part of the city and state authorities.
Condolences and tributes to Eric poured in, including a touching homage from Congressman Estes, but the overall reaction to Eric’s death from the media and D.C. was mostly indifference. Eric’s mother revealed that she hasn’t received any calls from D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser or Metropolitan Police chief Pamela Smith, whose responsibility it was to keep the streets in D.C. safe.
Compare this to the hysteria following the death of George Floyd, who was convicted of eight crimes and served four years in prison for aggravated robbery in a home invasion.
Not every authority is indifferent. On August 11, 2025, President Trump used emergency powers to deploy National Guard soldiers and sent hundreds of federal law enforcement officials to D.C. President Trump doubtless observed the abject indifference and lack of remedial actions from D.C. authorities a month after the wanton murder of Eric and decided that this extreme measure was the only solution to a chronic problem.
Over the years, due to the absence of governance and lenient policing policies advocated by liberal governmental authorities, D.C. has become a haven for criminal elements. Violent crime is rampant. The sight of vagrants injecting themselves with drugs or engaging in other varieties of unruly behavior is common.
Democrat propaganda outfits such as tax-funded NPR downplay the crisis that plagues D.C., citing statistics from the Justice Department that “violent crime in the city hit a 30-year low last year. City data shows homicides are down by more than 10%, robbery by almost 30%, and carjackings are down nearly 40%.”
So let’s dig deeper and focus on the number of homicides in D.C.
The Metropolitan Police’s website reveals that homicides are down by 14% as of August 27, 2025, compared to 2024 at the same time. But the numbers prove that the decline in homicide is slight; in 2024, the number of homicides was 120, the number was 101.
This is also the case with assault with a dangerous weapon, which is down by 18%, as of August 27, 2025, compared to 2024 at the same time. The numbers reveal that in 2024, the number was 710, whereas in 2025, the number was 579.
This isn’t a predictive trend. There could be major gang violence in a day, which would surge the numbers considerably
These numbers and trends are impersonal and don’t reveal the impact of the loss. Some among the murdered could have been the sole breadwinners of the family. The pain of losing someone so suddenly due to a violent crime often leaves an indelible impression on the minds of surviving family members.
The atmosphere created due to violent crime places fear in the minds of tax-paying citizens. Citizens may wonder if they will return home alive or safe when they leave home for work or errands. Nor is it just violence: It’s a nuisance being accosted by panhandlers or verbally abusive, drug-addled tramps loitering around D.C.
This is unacceptable anywhere in any civilized country.
If one ranks the essential services that a government must provide its citizens, security is the topmost priority. This is not just the absence of violence, but the prevalence of calm and peace — an atmosphere where people look forward to living their lives rather than surviving.
As expected, the Democrats and their propagandists threw a fit following the deployment of the National Guard in D.C. Wolf Blitzer posted a picture of armed vehicles and personnel in D.C. to imply that the U.S. is heading toward a dictatorship. Tax-funded PBS had a retired major who called the move unnecessary and dangerous. NPR hosted an Army National Guard veteran who had a similar opinion, and MSNBC claimed that the nation is heading toward martial law. The Daily Beast claimed that Trump is planning a “military takeover” of more U.S. cities.
When crime rose in D.C., the news media should have raised an alarm and compelled authorities to act. But that didn’t happen.
Demonstrators took to the streets in D.C. to protest this imposition. These protesters didn’t raise an alarm when gangs murdered innocent citizens.
Once upon a time, the media and protestors were the voice of the common man; now they are lapdogs of the establishment.
Now for some facts.
President Trump’s imposition of the National Guard in D.C. has been a resounding success. Fox News reported that D.C. has had zero homicides since August 13. The New York Post reported that regular citizens of D.C. resoundingly approve of this move.
White House correspondent Iris Tao, who is currently pregnant, recalled her encounter with violence in D.C. in 2023 and thanked President Trump for his actions.
WATCH: @IrisTaoTV shares a terrifying story of being held at gunpoint and pistol-whipped a few years ago in Washington, D.C.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 26, 2025
"I'm very grateful to God ... but also to Mr. President. Thank you for now making D.C. safer... on behalf of my parents, and now my baby on the way." ❤️ pic.twitter.com/KugIEjLAbu
President Trump’s imposition of the National Guard has saved lives, made neighborhoods safer, and brought a feeling of calm and peace among citizens that has been absent for quite some time. This is the best way to win fair-minded voters to the GOP.
Trump showed gratitude toward the National Guard on behalf of the citizens by serving them pizza and burgers.
For this to be a long-term success, local officials will have to get their act together. But that seems unlikely, because this lawlessness is due not to error, but to the intention of authorities in D.C., where there is more compassion for the perpetrator than the victim and crimes are seen through the prism of race.
D.C. authorities are gradually defunding the police. This anti-police attitude causes law enforcement officials to be reluctant to do their duty for fear of reprisals later.
This apathy toward the suffering of citizens is also because top authorities remain insulated from the lawlessness they have caused. They are protected by tax-funded security. They never have to walk down the street alone at night.
The citizen is left unguarded; strict gun laws in D.C. mean that the citizens have no affordable means of self-defense.
Historians say that since 1965, no president has overridden local authorities to deploy the National Guard, but President Trump broke that sacrosanct, longstanding tradition by federalizing thousands of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles. Media pundits will imply that this is the beginning of a totalitarian takeover.
But history, like statistics, dehumanizes the issues.
Just because no president since 1965 deployed the National Guard doesn’t mean President Trump should allow violence to thrive across the U.S. If local authorities aren’t doing their duty, the president, as the chief law enforcement officer in the country, can take all measures to ensure the enforcement of laws.
President Trump could have avoided this controversy. He could have offered condolences for the death of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym and condemned D.C. authorities, and moved on like presidents of the recent past did.
But he did the right thing, acting fearlessly without an iota of concern from Democrats and their propagandists.
This is why he was re-elected in November 2024.
President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard emanates from compassion for the suffering of citizens who have been forgotten.
Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.