Trump deploys Nationwide Guard to Washington DC and pledges crime crackdown

[ad_1] Ana Faguy BBC Information, Washington DC

Watch: Trump broadcasts deployment of Nationwide Guard to Washington DC

President Donald Trump mentioned he was deploying the Nationwide Guard to Washington DC and taking management of town's police drive as he pledged to crack down on crime and homelessness within the metropolis.

Trump declared a "public security emergency" on Monday, deploying 800 Nationwide Guard troops who will bolster a whole lot of federal regulation enforcement officers who have been deployed over the weekend.

"It is changing into a state of affairs of full and whole lawlessness," he instructed reporters on the White Home.

Town's Mayor Muriel Bowser has rejected the president's claims about crime, and whereas there was a spike in 2023, statistics present it has fallen since then. Violent crime within the metropolis can also be at a 30-year low.

"I am asserting a historic motion to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse," Trump mentioned throughout a information convention through which he was flanked by US Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi, who will lead town's police drive whereas it's below federal management.

"That is liberation day in DC, and we'll take our capital again," he mentioned.

Trump mentioned Washington DC had been "taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals" in addition to "drugged out maniacs and homeless individuals".

In keeping with information from town's Metropolitan Police Division, homicides dropped by 32% between 2023 and 2024 and reached their lowest degree since 2019.

There was one other substantial drop this 12 months of 12%, the information reveals.

Mayor Bowser, a Democrat, acknowledged there had been a "horrible" spike in crime in 2023, which mirrored a nationwide pattern, however she pushed again towards any claims of a crimewave within the metropolis.

"We're not experiencing a criminal offense spike," she instructed MSNBC on Sunday. "The president could be very conscious of our efforts."

When requested about White Home Deputy Chief of Workers Stephen Miller's remark that Washington is extra violent than Baghdad, Bowser mentioned "any comparability to a war-torn nation is hyperbolic and false".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/48a5/live/1182a530-76dd-11f0-a20f-3b86f375586a.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/48a5/live/1182a530-76dd-11f0-a20f-3b86f375586a.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/48a5/live/1182a530-76dd-11f0-a20f-3b86f375586a.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/48a5/live/1182a530-76dd-11f0-a20f-3b86f375586a.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/48a5/live/1182a530-76dd-11f0-a20f-3b86f375586a.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/48a5/live/1182a530-76dd-11f0-a20f-3b86f375586a.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/48a5/live/1182a530-76dd-11f0-a20f-3b86f375586a.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/48a5/live/1182a530-76dd-11f0-a20f-3b86f375586a.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Image shows the Washington DC homicide rate between 1990-2024" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Of the 800 Nationwide Guard troops who can be activated, between 100-200 can be deployed and supporting regulation enforcement at any given time, the military mentioned in an announcement.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned the Nationwide Guardsmen would arrive by the top of the week.

In addition to that deployment, Trump mentioned he would place town's police division below direct federal management utilizing the District of Columbia House Rule Act.

That act was instituted by former President Richard Nixon to permit residents of Washington DC - which is the one US metropolis that's not in any of the 50 states - to elect a metropolis council and a mayor.

However it additionally has a caveat that enables the president to take management of town's police drive if "particular circumstances of an emergency nature exist".

If the president intends to take management for longer than 48 hours, they should present a written discover to Congress. And even when that discover is offered, they can't preserve management of the police for longer than 30 days.

On Sunday, when requested about the opportunity of the president taking management of town's police division, Mayor Bowser mentioned: "There are very particular issues in our regulation that might enable [that]. None of these circumstances exist in our metropolis proper now."

She mentioned she was "involved" in regards to the Nationwide Guard imposing native legal guidelines.

Bowser gave a information convention in a while Monday through which she mentioned the president's order was "unsettling and unprecedented".

She mentioned Trump's view of town had been "formed by his Covid-view expertise throughout his first time period", which she acknowledged was "difficult occasions" for the district.

"It is true we skilled a criminal offense spike post-Covid," she mentioned.

"We labored shortly to place legal guidelines in place that received violent offenders off our streets," she added. "We've seen an enormous lower in crime due to these efforts."

Watch: DC Mayor Bowser says crime within the metropolis is at a 30-year low

In addition to crime, Trump additionally spoke at size about homelessness in Washington DC.

"We're eliminating the slums," he mentioned, with out giving additional particulars. He mentioned homeless individuals could be despatched elsewhere however didn't say the place.

Trump added that "all the pieces needs to be good" when dignitaries and overseas leaders go to town.

"It is a very robust reflection of our nation," he mentioned. "If our capital is soiled, our complete nation is soiled and so they do not respect us."

Native teams working with homeless individuals within the capital instructed the BBC that they had truly seen progress in recent times.

Homelessness is down nearly 20% for people in Washington DC in 2025 in comparison with 5 years in the past, mentioned Ralph Boyd, the president and chief govt of So Others Would possibly Eat (SOME) - a bunch that gives individuals within the metropolis with housing, clothes and different social companies.

He additionally mentioned Trump's proposal to maneuver individuals out of town was not a long-term resolution.

"All it can do is switch the issue some place else into communities which are maybe much less geared up to cope with it than we're," Boyd mentioned.

In the meantime, exterior the White Home, protesters involved about Trump's actions gathered and chanted "fingers off DC" and "defend house rule".

"Trump doesn't care about DC's security, he cares about management," a speaker on the occasion mentioned.

The president's actions comply with a collection of social media posts in latest days through which he has criticised the working of Washington DC. Trump has lengthy complained in regards to the metropolis's Democratic management for his or her dealing with of crime and homelessness.

Watch: "They are going to be robust, they are going to be powerful," defence secretary on deploying troops to Washington DC

He has additionally expressed concern for a former worker of the Division of Authorities Effectivity (Doge) who was attacked within the metropolis final week.

Throughout Monday's press convention, Trump mentioned the worker was "savagely crushed by a band of roaming thugs" and was "left dripping in blood".

He additionally talked about different federal authorities workers and elected officers who've been attacked, together with a Democratic lawmaker and an intern.

"It is a risk to America," Trump mentioned.

The primary time Trump deployed the Nationwide Guard was in June, when he ordered 2,000 Nationwide Guardsmen to Los Angeles to cope with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants.