Trump Deploys National Guard, Takes Control of D.C. Police in Sweeping Crackdown on Crime and Homelessness

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – National Guard troops and hundreds of federal agents have been deployed across Washington, D.C., after President Donald Trump invoked emergency powers to take direct control of the city’s police force and launch an aggressive campaign against violent crime and homelessness in the nation’s capital.

On Tuesday morning, more than 800 National Guard soldiers arrived to bolster local law enforcement. The move comes as the White House confirmed that nearly 850 federal agents began patrolling the city Monday evening, making 23 arrests on charges ranging from homicide and gun crimes to drug offenses and fare evasion. Authorities also cleared 70 homeless encampments, giving those displaced a choice between shelters, treatment, or potential arrest.

“These are preexisting laws that are already on the books. They have not been enforced, which is part of the reason for this nationalizing, or the federalizing of the National Guard,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “While we are targeting criminals and trying to remove criminals off of the streets, we also want to make D.C. safe and beautiful.”

President Trump announced the emergency measures on Monday, declaring a “Liberation Day in D.C.” and promising to restore law and order. He placed the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control for a 30-day period authorized by the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.

“Our 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,” Trump said from the White House. “We’re taking it back.”

The crackdown follows a recent string of violent incidents, including the city’s 100th homicide of the year and a widely publicized attack on former Department of Government Efficiency staffer Edward “Big Balls” Coristine. The Metropolitan Police reported that 33-year-old Tymark Wells became the 100th homicide victim late Monday evening, despite police data showing an 11% drop in year-over-year homicides.

D.C. officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser and Attorney General Brian Schwalb, criticized the move as an “unsettling and unprecedented” intrusion, pointing to data showing violent crime in the city at a 30-year low. The D.C. Council called the federal deployment a “manufactured intrusion,” while Schwalb called it “unlawful” and unnecessary.

However, the White House disputes the city’s statistics, citing D.C.’s ranking as having the fourth-highest homicide rate in the nation, a 547% rise in carjackings since 2018, and a nonviolent vehicle theft rate more than three times the national average.

Federal agents and soldiers have been seen throughout the city, from popular nightlife districts to neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River. Officials said their focus includes cracking down on gangs, drug-related crime, carjackings, and lawless behavior by roving groups of youths.

The Trump administration also made homelessness a key focus, clearing dozens of encampments and offering shelter or treatment to displaced residents. Those who refused faced the threat of arrest or fines for living in public spaces.

“There are many places that they can go, and we’re going to help them as much as you can help, but they’ll not be allowed to turn our capital into a wasteland for the world to see,” Trump said.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, tasked with overseeing the 30-day emergency period, said, “We agreed that there is nothing more important than keeping residents and tourists in Washington, D.C. safe from deadly crime.”

Local authorities have said they will comply with the emergency order but stressed the need for federal agents to work in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department.

As the city enters this new phase of federal control, the impact of Trump’s aggressive strategy will be closely watched by both supporters and critics, with both sides acknowledging that the stakes for public safety and civil liberties in the nation’s capital have rarely been higher.

Reporting contributed by Worthy News staff and wire services.

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