Civil rights leaders have slammed Trump after his press conference for deploying the National Guard in Washington, DC. They are calling it a power abuse and a federal coup that’s also stemming from the clash between the black population.
Trump announced that he’ll deploy 800 National Guard members to get the city rid of homelessness and crime. He called it a tragic emergency while complaining about the rising crime in the city and unnecessary protests.
Over the last few situations, he has called out to take over the city, which is under the Mayor and the Congress council. His earlier post stated that they would have to deal with crime to clean up the city.
The Mayor can work alongside, and if that doesn’t happen, he’ll do it himself. According to civil rights activists, this is a way to take away rights from people. Derrick Johnson has defended the city, saying there’s no emergency in DC and the city has the right to govern itself.
This is an authoritarian takeover, plain and simple. Trump is grabbing power like a dictator, and he won’t stop with DC — your state or city will be next.
DC deserves autonomy and statehood. https://t.co/DRO8NiqVv0
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) August 11, 2025
The president of the NAACP also stated that DC does not need a federal coup. There has been a history of clashes between Trump and DC leaders during the 2020 George Floyd protests, and Trump also wanted Black Lives Matter signs removed from the streets. They were removed as he threatened to stop federal funding.
Civil rights leaders are calling out this move as a cover-up to take over the Epstein scandal. They are trying to divert all the attention to this and not be accountable for not releasing the Epstein documents.
The President of the National Action Network said that the people living on the streets, needing the most care, will suffer as well as our Democracy. Democracy, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said that this move is a drastic overreach and the city belongs to the people.
DC—It isn’t your city—its ours
A Federal District
Its capital of the most powerful nation on earth
You’re permitted to partially govern the place through a congressional act granting home-rule
You’re incompetent to carry out that mandate
OUR capital is being returned to us https://t.co/OCBv52Sw3E
— JudgeJoeBrown (@JudgeJoeBrownTV) August 12, 2025
If Trump wanted to care about the city, he wouldn’t have prevented DC from spending its own money. There has been a decline in crimes in DC, and Trump still wants to deploy the national guard.
Next, other cities with Democratic mayors, such as New York, Chicago and LA, may have to fight off this power abuse. They will have to be ready and not panic in helplessness when something like this is announced.
