US President Donald Trump on Monday placed the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington DC under federal control and announced that he would deploy the National Guard to the US capital city.
Trump claimed that “our capital city has overtaken violent gangs and blood criminals.”
However, police figures suggest that violent crime in Washington DC fell 35% in 2024, and fell 26% in the first six months of 2025.
Washington’s Democrat Mayor, Murial Boussar, has earlier stated that the city is “not experiencing the crime spike” and said that violent crimes killed their lowest level in more than three decades last year.
Meanwhile, Trump said that the authorities continuously described the homeless nest, which they referred to as “slums”.
What do we know about the deployment of National Guard for Washington?
In his announcement, Trump said that 800 National Guard soldiers would be deployed in Washington.
The National Guard is a reserved unit of the American Armed Forces. Special states have control over it but the President can take command during war or emergency.
DW’s Washington Bureau head Enenes Pahal said it was imported to remember that Columbia district was not a state with a governor, and it eventually comes under cover control.
“President can control Washington – this is their right,” he said.
Next to Trump’s announcement, Washington’s Mayor on Sunday told American broadcaster MSNBC that he thought it was “not the most efficient use of our guard.”
“Hyperbolic and wrong in any comparison of the war -torn country,” said Boseer.
The step comes after the Trump controversial National Guard was deployed to Los Angeles during a major protest in June. Most of them have been remembered.
Trump – An convicted Fale – Earlier about 1,500 people were forgiven, who were riots at the Capital Building in Washington on 6 January 2021.
Edited by: Wesley Dakri