Hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops came to dominate the streets of Washington, D.C., this week as President Donald Trump’s administration took the extraordinary step of asserting federal control over the city in the name of combatting violent crime.
In the first viral moments of this federally mandated crackdown, a widely circulated video captured federal officers stopping a group of Black residents, questioning a man about his cigarette, suspecting it might be marijuana.
Meanwhile, in Washington, DC:
(via magfedghost/IG) pic.twitter.com/hIUvuZVhV5
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 12, 2025
The officer, identified as a U.S. Park Police agent, was seen asking for identification and explaining, “We’re doing checks, keeping everybody safe down here,” clarifying that D.C. was now under federal jurisdiction. He further told the group, “Tell your boys, everybody’s out from the FBI to the police. So, do your thing, let them know. Don’t be smoking outside, don’t be drinking outside.”
This was more than routine policing. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the deployment of almost 850 officers on August 11, made 23 arrests the first night for charges ranging from homicide and firearms offenses to stalking, DUI, and fare evasion.
“This is only the beginning,” she said at a press conference. “Over the course of the next month, the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue and arrest every violent criminal in the District who breaks the law, undermines public safety, and endangers law-abiding Americans”.
The Department of Defense mentioned to NBC News that National Guard members are tasked with security, crowd management, perimeter control, and communications support, not direct law enforcement. Most will not be conducting arrests, searches, or carrying firearms, a Pentagon official told the media.
Mayor Muriel Bowser fiercely criticized the takeover, calling Trump’s action “unsettling and unprecedented” and arguing that the administration was treating D.C. as a testing ground for potential rollouts of similar tactics in other cities.
“He wants to send the message to cities that if he can get away with this in Los Angeles, if he can get away with this in D.C. — he can get away with it in New York, or Baltimore, or Chicago, or any other place where millions of people live, work and are doing everything the right way,” she said in an interview. Bowser added, “We’re not some hellscape. We’re a beautiful city.”
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City data shows a 26% drop in violent crime year-to-date compared to the previous year, and a Department of Justice report declaring that violent crime is now at its lowest level in 30 years. The figures show a decisive reversal since a spike in homicides in 2023 and directly challenge Trump’s repeated claims of a “lawless” city engulfed in chaos.
Despite the data, President Trump has pressed ahead, invoking Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, a move requiring notification to Congress to extend federal authority beyond 48 hours and seeking long-term congressional approval for continued federal oversight.
Situation in DC, on 14th St and W St. NW, with federal agents — no agency ID’d — pulling cars over for checks. They arrested a Black woman in this car.
BIG crowd shouting at police.
“Fuck you!”
“What is wrong with you!”
“You don’t need to terrorize people like this!” pic.twitter.com/dPQ9qe139c
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) August 14, 2025
The deployment has not just raised concerns about D.C. autonomy but triggered national debate about the precedent of federal policing of American cities. Bowser, pressing for restoration of local control, concluded, “We will continue to operate our government in a way that makes you proud”.
Moreover, given the way that the Black population is already being targeted, the deployment of federal agents in D.C. might have far reaching consequences for the,, especially given the present situation of America.
