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Trump takes control of Washington, DC, police dept, deploys National Guard in crime crackdown

The White House increased the presence of federal law enforcement in the city, deploying 450 officers across all four quadrants in busy areas.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters, from right, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll listen in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo)

US President Donald Trump on Monday said, “We are going to take our capital back,” as he announced plans to place Washington, DC’s police department under federal control and deploy National Guard troops, Reuters reported. He said the move was to address “a wave of lawlessness,” despite official data showing violent crime in the city fell to a 30-year low in 2024.

“I’m deploying the National Guard to help re-establish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC,” Trump told reporters at the White House, standing with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.”

The announcement follows an increased federal law enforcement presence in the city in recent days, with hundreds of officers and agents from more than a dozen agencies — including the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — deployed.

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Also read | ‘Homeless have to move out immediately from Washington,’ says Trump, eyes National Guard deployment

DC mayor Muriel Bowser disputed Trump’s claims, saying the city is “not experiencing a crime spike” and noting that violent crime was at its lowest level in more than three decades last year. Police figures show violent crime dropped 26 per cent in the first seven months of 2025, after falling 35 per cent in 2024, while overall crime fell by 7 per cent.

Gun violence remains a concern, with Washington recording the third-highest gun homicide rate in 2023 among US cities with populations over 500,000, according to the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.

Trump has used the National Guard in other cities, including in Los Angeles earlier this year, when 5,000 troops were sent to respond to protests over immigration raids. State and local officials opposed that move, calling it unnecessary.

A federal trial began on Monday in San Francisco to determine whether the Trump administration broke US law by deploying the National Guard and Marines in California without the governor’s approval.

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Unlike US states, the DC National Guard is under the president’s command. Guard troops have been sent to Washington on multiple occasions, including after the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. In 2020, during his first term, Trump deployed the Guard to respond to demonstrations over police brutality, a move criticised by civil rights leaders and opposed by Bowser.

On Monday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that DC “will be LIBERATED today” and said “crime, savagery, filth, and scum will disappear” from the city. He added: “I will MAKE OUR CAPITAL GREAT AGAIN! The days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people, are OVER! I quickly fixed the Border (ZERO ILLEGALS in last 3 months!), D.C. is next!!!”

US law generally prohibits the military from directly engaging in domestic law enforcement.

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