The Washington DC national guard began deploying on the city’s streets on Tuesday night, as the city’s mayor toughened her response to Donald Trump taking control of the city’s police force. The unusual federalization of law enforcement in the US capital began a day after the president ordered the troops’ arrival, calling Washington DC a “lawless” city, despite official crime statistics saying otherwise, a White House official confirmed.
Muriel Bowser, the Democratic mayor of Washington, hardened her stance on Tuesday night after treading a more diplomatic line earlier in the day. During a live town hall type event on social media on Tuesday night, she described the arrival of federalized national guard as an authoritarian push. Bowser called on DC residents and voters to overcome Trump’s move and urged them “to protect our city, to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule and get to the other side of this guy and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push”.
Defense officials had earlier said a small number of the roughly 800 guard members planned for the mission had already been mobilized by Tuesday afternoon, with more expected to arrive in the coming days. About 850 officers and agents took part in a “massive law enforcement surge” across Washington DC on Monday night and made nearly two dozen arrests, the White House has said. The violent crime rate in Washington DC is at a 30-year low.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday: “As part of the president’s massive law enforcement surge, last night approximately 850 officers and agents were surged across the city. They made a total of 23 arrests, including multiple other contacts.” The arrests consisted of homicide, firearms offences, possession with intent to distribute narcotics, fare evasion, lewd acts and stalking, Leavitt added. “A total of six illegal handguns were seized off of District of Columbia’s streets as part of last night’s effort.”
Leavitt added: “This is only the beginning. Over the course of the next month, the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue and arrest every violent criminal in the district who breaks the law, undermines public safety and endangers law-abiding Americans.” The press secretary also told reporters that homeless people have the option to be taken to a homeless shelter and offered addiction and mental health services. “If they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time. These are pre-existing laws that are already on the books. They have not been enforced.”
Trump’s intervention has been widely condemned as an authoritarian power grab that undermines the autonomy of Washington’s DC local government and seeks to distract attention from political problems such as the Jeffrey Epstein files. Bowser had earlier pledged to work “side by side” with the federal government as national guard troops arrived at their headquarters in the capital. Speaking after a meeting with the attorney general, Pam Bondi, at the justice department, Bowser told reporters: “You will see the Metropolitan police department (MPD) working side by side with our federal partners in order to enforce the effort that we need around the city.”
