Trump to put capital’s police under federal control and bring in National Guard
Associated Press Reporters
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is placing the Washington DC police department under federal control and deploying the National Guard to make the nation’s capital safer.
Mr Trump has promised new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington, prompting the city’s mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets.
Ahead of a news conference, Mr Trump said on social media that the nation’s capital would be “Liberated today!”
He said he would end the “days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people”.
Public safety
For Mr Trump, the effort to take over public safety in Washington reflects a next step in his law enforcement agenda after his aggressive push to stop illegal border crossings.
But the move involves at least 500 federal law enforcement officials, raising fundamental questions about how an increasingly emboldened federal government will interact with its state and local counterparts.
More than 100 FBI agents and about 40 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are among federal law enforcement personnel being assigned to patrols in Washington, a person briefed on the plans said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Marshals Service are also contributing officers.
The person was not authorised to publicly discuss personnel matters and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. The Justice Department did not immediately have a comment Monday morning.
Section 740
Mr Trump said he is invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to deploy members of the National Guard.
He compared crime in the American capital with that in other major cities, saying Washington performs poorly on safety relative to the capitals of Iraq, Brazil and Colombia, among others.
Mr Trump also said at his news briefing that his administration has started removing homeless encampments “from all over our parks, our beautiful, beautiful parks”.
“We’re getting rid of the slums, too,” he said, adding that the US would not lose its cities and that Washington was just a start.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi will be taking over responsibility for Washington’s metro police department, he said, while also complaining about potholes and graffiti in the city and calling them “embarrassing”.
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Has he already met up with his mentor Outin?
The excellent LBC American correspondent Simon Marks, 32 years resident in Washington DC, has said that violent crime is at a 30 year low in the city debunking this rubbish entirely. The US taxpayer is footing the bill for their National Guard to go out, beat up, shoot, arrest and deport any Mexican or anyone of a non white skin colour speaking ‘foreign’ despite being legal citizens. It is a fraud organised by Trump, the fraud in chief.
He calls for smaller federal government, to let the state control, when forcing his control on womens bodies or education and such. But really its a seriious fascist police state drive, under his control. Never need to vote again he once said, while grabbing more power.
He did tell a Christian evangelist conference that they wouldn’t need to vote again.
I am Welsh but have lived in the Washington DC metro area over 20 years and can confirm the serious crime level is frightening made up of gun crime, armed car jacking, etc. The serious crime stats have been manipulated; purposefully under estimated to make the Mayor look good. There is currently an investigation on this issue. Has the LBC American correspondent walked around DC at night? Frankly I wouldn’t. It seems their conclusion is based on, questionable at best, stats.
Pity no one there agrees with you. Apart from the far right of course.
Meanwhile Maxwell is let out of jail. You know what she was convicted for? Trump tough on crime…. except when they have receipts.
I think Trump has made a few visits overseas recently and now realises how rubbish the US is!