President Trump deployed over 1,600 federal agents and National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., in an unprecedented 30-day emergency operation resulting in more than 100 arrests.
Matt Delaney reports:
I’m standing here on the corner of 14th Street and Spring Road in Northwest D.C., just one of the locations where officers have been seen making arrests during the federal takeover of the nation’s capital.
So far, more than 100 people have been arrested on homicide, gun, and drug charges since President Trump took command of policing in the district.
As of now, the White House has sent 850 federal agents to patrol the city as part of the effort, and about 800 National Guard troops have been deployed around D.C. as well.
This includes traffic checkpoints along busy strips, which have drawn angry protest crowds in response.
And the Metropolitan Police can now alert ICE when they encounter an illegal immigrant during a traffic stop.
D.C. leaders, as you may have guessed, have not been pleased with what’s going on in their city.
“While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can’t say that given some of the rhetoric of the past that we’re totally surprised.”
Both the mayor and the council argued that violent crime is at a 30-year low in the District just two years after the city witnessed its worst crime wave of the 21st century.
The Trump administration says those numbers are skewed by bad data from the police and instead pointed out that D.C. has one of the highest murder rates in the nation.
There’s been some common ground between local and federal leaders, however.
Mayor Bowser said she and Attorney General Pam Bondi agreed that getting guns off the street was a top priority.
And Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said the stronger law enforcement presence in the city has been a major help to her short staff department.
“For the timing, we will reevaluate and reassess and make further decisions after this 30-day period is up.
But within these 30 days, our entire focus is making sure that this is the most efficient operation possible.”
President Trump said he will push Congress to extend his emergency declaration beyond the 30-day period, so he can keep cracking down on crime in the nation’s capital.
But doing so would require support from Democrats, so it’s unlikely it will come to pass.
For more information on the federal takeover and how it’s affecting people in the District, make sure you’re subscribed to the Washington Times YouTube channel.
For The Washington Times, I’m Matt Delaney.
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