US Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with National Guard personnel at the city’s main train station, bringing prominent White House support to the city’s streets in Washington, DC.
As protesters chanted “free DC” during the most recent tense interlude from President Donald Trump’s crackdown in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, the vice president asserted.
As he gave the troops burgers, Vance said, “We appreciate everything you’re doing.” Vance cited the protesters’ yellings, saying, “They seem to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities.
A striking scene that Vance and Hegseth made during which White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Vance both made eye contact with the Democratic-led city.
Federal law enforcement agencies began patrolling areas of Washington, DC on August 8 with the addition of the FBI and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Following a “crime emergency” under Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which temporarily gave the city’s Metropolitan Police federal authority, on August 11, President Trump declared a “crime emergency” under Section 740 of the Home Rule Act.
In Washington, an estimated 1, 900 soldiers are stationed. More than half of the states where Republicans control are Republican. They’ve mostly been seen around downtown areas, including the National Mall and DC Metro stops, aside from Union Station.
Vehicle crash involving the National Guard
A civilian car collided with a police vehicle less than a mile (1. 6 km) from the US Capitol on Wednesday at the intersection of life in the city and a military presence. According to DC Fire Department spokesman Vito Maggiolo, one person was trapped inside the car after the accident and needed to be pulled out by emergency personnel. The patient had minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.
What caused the crash wasn’t immediately known. A tan-colored armored vehicle twice the height of a civilian car with a crushed side was seen in a video posted online showing the aftermath of the collision.
“You visit our city, and you do it,” you say? “Seriously” In the video, a woman yelled at the soldiers.
More than 550 people have been detained so far, according to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, and additional arrests could be made for $500 from the US Marshals Service. “We will restore DC’s safety,” the pledge reads! On social media, Bondi posted.
navigating the circumstance
As she attended a back-to-school event with teachers and staff, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser attempted to balance the political situation in her favor and the reality in front of her.
She said, “This is not the same time as what we experienced last year when we opened school. Bowser said she would concentrate on politics and told teachers at schools that “your job is to love on the kids, teach them, make sure that they are prepared, and trust that I’m going to do the right thing for all of us.”
Despite the militarized environment, Bowser argued that children should “joy as they approach this school year””. Washington’s public schools re-convene on Monday for the fall semester.
According to city statistics, the city’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) made 61 arrests per day on average in 2024. The Trump administration has not specified whether the arrest figures it has listed only federal agents and do not include those made by MPD officers.
According to the police department’s weekly statistics, DC crime rates have remained largely unchanged from a year ago.
As of Tuesday, the city’s overall crime rate is unchanged from before the crackdown, which was 7% lower year over year. According to the data, DC has also experienced the same decreases in property crime and violent crime as it did before.
Trump has defended his decision to place soldiers in the US capital to stop a wave of violent crime. Officials in cities have refuted that claim, citing data from federal and city statistics that show violent crime has decreased significantly since it last soared in 2023.
The president claimed that the crime data is fabricated without providing any proof. Unnamed sources cited by the US Department of Justice as launching an investigation into whether the numbers were manipulated in a report released on Tuesday.
rifles and shotguns
Since Trump began bringing federal agents into the city, the White House has praised the number of firearms law enforcement has seize. US Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed that the operation had removed 76 illegal firearms from the streets along with more than 500 arrests in a social media post on Wednesday.
According to a report from The Washington Post on Tuesday, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., will no longer file charges against those who violate local law prohibiting people from carrying rifles or shotguns in the country’s capital.
8 illegal firearms were found in addition to 66 made yesterday. In Washington, DC, a juvenile was a target of an armed robbery warrant.
Thank you to Red, our K9, and all the men and women who continue to work hard to ensure that Americans are safe in the capital! pic. https://twitter.com/jpcWfTvRhp
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the new policy won’t prevent prosecutors from prosecuting those accused of crimes involving illegal weapons, such as a convicted felon found with a gun.
She said, “We will continue to seize all prohibited and illegal firearms.”
With limited exceptions, the DC code in question prohibits carrying a rifle or shotgun. In a statement to the Washington Post, Pirro, a close ally of Trump, claimed that the law is incompatible with two US Supreme Court decisions that expand gun rights.
A separate DC law that forbids handguns was overturned by the court in 2008, and it now grants individuals the right to keep firearms in their homes for self-defense. The court ruled in 2022 that any gun-control law must be based on the nation’s historical traditions to be effective.
Source: Aljazeera
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