Sawt Falasteen - Trump deploys National Guard to tackle Washington crime

The Republican leader told a White House news conference he plans to place the DC Metropolitan Police under the direct control of the federal government while sending in the National Guard.

The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged -- although violent offenses are down.

"This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back," Trump said.

Trump -- a convicted felon who has pardoned around 1,500 people involved in the 2021 US Capitol riot in Washington -- complained that police and prosecutors aren't tough enough.

He had repeatedly threatened a federal takeover of the city of 700,000, saying crime in Washington is "totally out of control."

The new approach echoes Trump's immigration policies that have effectively sealed the southern border amid mass deportations while deploying active-duty troops against protesters in Los Angeles.

He told reporters he planned to roll out the policy to other crime-ridden cities, spotlighting problems in New York and Chicago.

Unlike the 50 states, Washington operates under a unique relationship with the federal government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters.

Since the mid-1970s, the Home Rule Act has allowed residents to elect a mayor and a city council, although Congress still controls the city's budget.

Preliminary data from DC police show significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, although that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.

Trump posted on social media ahead of the news conference that he wants to "stop violent crime" and tackle homeless encampments, after signing an order last month making it easier to arrest homeless people.

Trump ordered homeless people to "move out" of the city in a Truth Social post on Sunday, vowing to "make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before."

He promised individuals "places to stay," but "FAR from the Capital." Trump said criminals would be jailed and that it would all happen "very fast."

J.Saleh--SF-PST