United States President Donald Trump has invoked a “crime emergency” in Washington, DC, allowing his Department of Justice to take control of the city’s local law enforcement and deploying National Guard forces to the capital. The move has been met with widespread criticism, with many viewing it as an attempt to undermine the rights of DC residents.
Protesters gathered near the White House, chanting “boos” in response to Trump’s announcement. Keya Chatterjee, executive director of Free DC, described the move as “authoritarianism,” stating, “This goes beyond the sort of words people have been using, like ‘unprecedented’ and ‘unusual’… This is just authoritarianism.” The Pentagon confirmed that 800 soldiers were activated, with 100-200 supporting law enforcement.
The rights of Washington, DC’s residents have long been a subject of debate. As a district under the direct auspices of the federal government, it maintains a level of local autonomy but has never been granted statehood. Civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton condemned the move, calling it the “ultimate affront to justice and civil rights.” He added, “Donald Trump was inspired to take this disgusting, dangerous, and derogatory action solely out of self-interest… Let’s 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’s handling of the Epstein files.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed concerns over the deployment, stating, “My message to residents is this… We know that access to our democracy is tenuous. That is why you have heard me and many Washingtonians before me advocate for full statehood.” For many residents, Trump’s move underscored the lack of power they have in influencing local law enforcement policies.
Amari Jack, a 20-year-old college student, said, “I came out today because I was really scared about the potential that DC could lose any autonomy it has… I feel like as DC natives, born and raised, we need to be able to represent ourselves and enrich our communities. We can’t just have a president come in and rule over our home.”
Trump’s order declared a “public safety emergency” and deployed National Guard troops to the city, citing the need to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse.” However, crime rates in DC have dropped significantly in recent years, with violent crime rates plummeting 35% from 2023 to 2024 and another 26% this year compared to the same period last year.
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb called the move “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” stating, “There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia.” Radha Tanner, a 20-year-old protester, saw Trump’s actions as a wider political mission to paint Democrat-dominated cities like DC as “unsafe and riddled with crime.”
Maurice Carney, a 60-year-old advocate for citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo, argued that long-term investment, not militarization, would show a real commitment to addressing crime. “When you see this increase in militarization… you always see an increase in violence, either from resistance or from creating an environment that’s unstable,” Carney said. “Like it or not, DC is seen as the capital of the empire, the capital of the world… So if Trump wants to show he’s this ‘law and order’ guy, DC is the best place for him to do that.” Carney added, “It’s also the best place for us to resist… for us to stand up and let the rest of the world know that even right in the heart of the empire, the people – local residents of DC – resisted”.