Donald Trump has announced plans<\/a> to deploy members of the National Guard<\/a> in Washington, D.C., and take control of the city\u2019s police force.<\/p>\n The dramatic move was in response to what the president claims is an \u201cout of control\u201d crime problem in the capital, even though data shows a recent decline.<\/p>\n Guardsmen will also be deployed \u201cto help re-establish Law Order of public safety,\u201d Trump said at a press conference with top officials Monday<\/a>, adding, \u201cThis is Liberation Day in D.C. and we\u2019re going to take our capital back.\u201d<\/p>\n To federalize law enforcement<\/a> in the city, Trump invoked section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, placing the Metropolitan Police Department<\/a> under direct federal control.<\/p>\n But the president is facing backlash over the decision. <\/p>\n Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton<\/a> pointed out<\/a> that violent crime<\/a> in D.C. is at a 30-year low, while former House speaker Nancy Pelosi<\/a> accused the president of trying distract from \u201chis incompetent mishandling of tariffs, health care, education and immigration.\u201d<\/p>\n And D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser<\/a> branded the the administration\u2019s plans as \u201cunsettling and unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a>Elon Musk\u2019s Grok calls Trump the \u2018most notorious\u2019 criminal in DC<\/p>\n The tech tycoon\u2019s attempt to build a reliably right-wing AI chatbot continues to go off the rails, reports Io Dodds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Joe Sommerlad12 August 2025 11:35<\/p>\n <\/a>Critics claim Trump\u2019s DC takeover is an \u2018Epstein files\u2019 distraction<\/p>\n The president\u2019s enemies wasted no time in denouncing his crimefighting manoeuvre yesterday, with more than one person suggesting it was an attempt to distract from the ongoing pressure on Trump to release the government\u2019s files on the late billionaire pedophile.<\/p>\n Joe Sommerlad12 August 2025 11:10<\/p>\n <\/a>Recap: Trump likens DC to \u2018worst places on Earth\u2019 as feds take over capital<\/p>\n President Donald Trump on Monday invoked a never-before-used authority to seize control of the Washington, D.C. police department and hand it over to the control of his attorney general as he simultaneously ordered the National Guard to begin patrolling the streets.<\/p>\n Casting the unprecedented move as needed to \u201crescue\u201d the city from \u201ccrime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse,\u201d Trump announced his federalization of the nation\u2019s capital from the White House press briefing room just months after the Justice Department issued a press release touting the city\u2019s declining crime rate.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a full report from Andrew Feinberg<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Joe Sommerlad12 August 2025 10:45<\/p>\n <\/a>Fox News pundit contradicts Trump\u2019s claims that \u2018crime is out of control\u2019 in DC<\/p>\n In advance of the president\u2019s announcement yesterday, former D.C., homicide detective and defense attorney Ted Williams took to Fox News over the weekend to reject Trump\u2019s contention that \u201ccrime is out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have to agree with the mayor here,\u201d Williams told anchor Jon Scott. <\/p>\n \u201cYes, there is crime, and there will always be crimes in every major metropolitan city in this country.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I really found troubling and, I gotta tell you, as a lawyer I found it troubling\u2026 is that the President of the United States would say that crime is out of control.<\/p>\n \u201cI take exception to that. Crime is not out of control in the District of Columbia.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Sommerlad12 August 2025 10:20<\/p>\n <\/a>Recap of Trump’s ‘unprecedented’ announcement for D.C.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump said Monday he’s taking over Washington’s police department and activating 800 members of the National Guard in the hopes of reducing crime, even as city officials stressed crime is already falling in the nation’s capital.<\/p>\n The president, flanked by his attorney general, his defense secretary and the FBI director, said he was declaring a public safety emergency and his administration would be removing homeless encampments.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re going to take our capital back,\u201d Trump declared, adding he’d also be “getting rid of the slums.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorney General Pam Bondi will assume responsibility for Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, Trump said, as he also railed against potholes and graffiti in the city and called them “embarrassing.” <\/p>\n The president did not provide a timeline for the control of the police department, but he’s limited to 30 days under statute unless he gets approval from Congress.<\/p>\n As Trump spoke, demonstrators gathered outside the White House to protest his moves. And local officials rejected the Republican president’s depiction of the district as crime-ridden and called his actions illegal.<\/p>\n \u201cThe administration’s actions are unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. \u201cThere is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam Rkaina12 August 2025 09:18<\/p>\n <\/a>‘This is not about crime’ <\/p>\n Keya Chatterjee, executive director of local campaign group Free DC also criticized the president\u2019s announcement. <\/p>\n \u201cNothing Trump is doing right now is about our safety. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat we know from history is that authoritarians always want to control the capital and the people in the capital city. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s because it\u2019s the fastest way to silence dissent and to accelerate their agenda. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd I want to be clear, this is not about crime. This is about what Trump is trying to do to DC in order to take over DC and silence us.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam Rkaina12 August 2025 09:07<\/p>\n <\/a>Sharpton accuses Trump of ‘ultimate affront to justice’<\/p>\n Civil rights leader Rev Al Sharpton has condemned Trump\u2019s plans for D.C., describing it as the \u201cUltimate affront to justice and civil rights… Donald Trump was inspired to take this disgusting, dangerous, and derogatory action solely out of self interest. <\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s call the inspiration for this assault on a majority Black city for what it is: another bid to distract his angry, frustrated base over his administration\u2019s handling of the Epstein files.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam Rkaina12 August 2025 09:04<\/p>\n <\/a>Charlie Kirk calls for \u2018full military occupation\u2019 of American cities \u2018once we liberate DC\u2019<\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s takeover of Washington, DC, policing could be heading to other cities.<\/p>\n The president has long threatened to bring down the force of federal law enforcement on cities, often Democrat-led, around the country to pursue his immigration and law and order agenda, and his supporters want to see that threat turned into reality.<\/p>\n MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk<\/a> is among those celebrating Trump\u2019s \u201cLiberation Day\u201d takeover<\/a> of the nation\u2019s capital by calling for the Trump administration to unleash a \u201cfull military occupation\u201d of other large American cities \u201conce we liberate\u201d Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n In what appeared to be spurred<\/a> by the recent late-night attack on former DOGE employee Edward \u201cBig Balls\u201d Coristine<\/a>, who was allegedly assaulted during an attempted carjacking, Trump announced on Monday that he was deploying 800 National Guard troops and temporarily taking control of Washington\u2019s police department to fight crime in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cOur capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore,\u201d Trump exclaimed<\/a> on Monday. Despite violent crime falling for two straight years<\/a> in Washington under the current chief of police, the president likened the city to the \u201cworst places on Earth\u201d while repeatedly framing it as a dystopian hellscape.<\/p>\n Josh Marcus12 August 2025 03:40<\/p>\n![\"Donald](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Trump.jpeg\")
Donald Trump said he wants to ‘rescue our nation\u2019s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse\u2019 (Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Rev](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/George_Floyd_Anniversary_24589.jpg\")
Rev Al Sharpton has condemned Trump\u2019s announcement (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI261870336.jpg\")
(Getty Images)![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI261870329.jpg\")
(Getty Images)![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI261870321.jpg\")
(Getty Images)<\/p>\n