In an effort to combat violent crime, Republican-led governors from six Republican-led states are sending hundreds of troops to Washington, DC, strengthening President Donald Trump’s aggressive plan to flood the city with soldiers and federal agents.
Three people with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Tuesday that the Trump administration has ordered federal prosecutors in Washington, DC, to be more aggressive in prosecuting those accused of being arrested in connection with a crackdown in the country’s capital.
Days after the Republican governors of West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio requested that the Trump administration send troops to Washington, the Republican governors of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee announced on Monday that they would do so.
Trump made the announcement on August 11 that the DC police force would temporarily be governed by the federal government, claiming that 800 members would join the federal DC National Guard to combat what he termed a “crime emergency” (in spite of declining crime in the country’s capital).
Additionally, the FBI and other agencies sent federal agents to patrol the city’s streets. The administration and Mayor Muriel Bowser reached a deal with the city’s attorney general to keep Police Chief Pamela Smith in charge of the department’s operations after the city’s attorney general filed a lawsuit.
Governors of Mississippi and Louisiana both announced on Monday that they had authorized the deployment of 200 Guard personnel to the capital, while governors of Louisiana and Mississippi both announced their approval on Monday. According to local media reports, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has also sent 160 Guard troops to the city.
Governor Landry stated in a post on X that “we cannot allow our cities to be overrun by violence and lawlessness.” “I’m proud to back this effort to restore safety and sanity to Washington, DC, and cities all over our country, including here in Louisiana,” said one supporter.
Days earlier, West Virginia promised 300-400 troops, South Carolina, 200, and Ohio, 150.
More than 1,100 Guard troops have been announced for deployments to Washington overall by the six Republican states.
Despite city data showing a 30% decrease from 2023 to 2024, which has continued to decline, Trump has justified his takeover by citing the city’s high crime rates.
According to a source with knowledge of the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press and was not authorized to discuss an open investigation publicly, the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into whether Washington, DC police officials have falsified crime data.
What federal regulations could have been broken by a potential crime data manipulation, it was unclear at the time.
The mayor’s office declined to comment on the situation.
On Tuesday, The New York Times published its initial report on the investigation. A Metropolitan Police Department commander who was suspected of influencing crime data took paid administrative leave earlier this year, according to NBC Washington.
Federal charges and troops’ maximums were achieved
According to sources who spoke with Reuters on the condition of anonymity, Jonathan Hornok, the head of the criminal division of the Washington, DC, US Attorney’s Office, instructed prosecutors to file as many federal cases as possible against those detained during the sweeps on Monday.
The people who were convicted of federal crimes can receive harsh sentences, so the decision could strain both the court system and raise the stakes for criminal defendants.
US Attorney [Jeanine] Pirro has made it abundantly clear that the current method of doing things is unacceptable in accordance with President Trump’s order to keep DC safe. According to a spokesperson for Pirro’s office on Tuesday, she instructed her staff to charge the highest crime that the law and the evidence support.
The capital has been informed about the National Guard’s armed-making plan in a move that could also raise street tensions. According to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to reveal the plans and spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity, it has not received information about when that might occur or where armed Guard members might be stationed in the District.
It would change what the Pentagon and Army have said about the troops’ lack of weapons. In a statement released last week, the Army stated that “weapons are available if needed but will remain in the armoury.”
Kingsley Wilson, a press secretary for the Pentagon, added last week that troops won’t be armed.
The District of Columbia National Guard said troops “may be armed in accordance with their mission and training” in response to questions about whether Guard members in Washington would be armed in the coming days.
The DC Guard’s spokesperson, Maj Melissa Heintz, did not provide more information, saying that their efforts were aimed at protecting the safety of the civilians they served.
Critics claim that the crackdown is “political theater.”
Two months after Trump sent thousands of troops into Los Angeles to halt protests against an immigration crackdown, the National Guard’s extraordinary deployment in Washington, DC comes. Similar takeovers of New York, Chicago, and LA have been threatened by him.
The deployments, according to experts, are in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which generally forbids the use of the National Guard and other branches of the US military in civilian law enforcement.
The deployment, according to critics, is merely performative and is intended to distract from more pressing issues.
The Center for American Progress stated in a statement that the Trump administration’s excessive authority will not make Washington, DC safer. It also poses a risky political theater that threatens democracy in the country’s capital and beyond.
It’s unclear whether the federal takeover has led to more enforcement despite the administration’s insistence that troops are needed to stop crime.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi reported on X on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s operations had been impacted by 465 arrests, or 39 per day on average.
However, according to city statistics, the Metropolitan Police Department made 61 arrests on average per day in 2024.
Source: Aljazeera
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