The White House said on Wednesday that law enforcement made dozens of arrests in Washington DC overnight after federal agents and national guard troops fanned out across the city as part of Donald Trump’s campaign to quell a “crime crisis” that local officials say does not exist.
The national guard arrived on the National Mall late Tuesday, while agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI and Department of Homeland Security were seen in several neighborhoods , sometimes accompanied by local police officers.
Video circulating on local media showed police and federal agents arresting at least one person that evening in Columbia Heights, home to the city’s largest Hispanic population. Other videos showed traffic stops near Kennedy street in Northwest Washington, which in years past has been the site of gang activity.
A White House official said to expect a “significantly higher” presence of national guard troops over the days to come, as well as round-the-clock patrols by federal agents, which have thus far only been present in the evenings. The administration argues the steps are necessary to fight what Trump has called an “out of control” crime problem in the nation’s capital, but local officials have disputed that characterization.
Data shows that crime rates plunged last year to the lowest levels in three decades, though the capital does have higher rates of some violent crimes compared with cities with similar populations.
Democratic lawmakers have condemned Trump’s incursion as an authoritarian move intended to distract his supporters from outrage over his refusal to make public files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a one-time friend who has become a fixation of conspiracy theorists.
The Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, has sought a cordial relationship with Trump since his return to the White House, but changed her tone on Tuesday, urging residents and voters during a social media event “to protect our city, to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule and get to the other side of this guy and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push”.
A White House official said a total of 43 arrests were made on Tuesday night, twice the total of the previous evening. More than 1,450 officers participated, about half of which were from the city’s police department, while only 30 national guard troops were deployed of the roughly 800 that defense officials have said are expected to arrive for the mission.
The White House said a total of 19 teams of officers from various federal agencies are in the city “to promote public safety and arrest violent offenders”, while the national guard will “protect federal assets, provide a safe environment for law enforcement officers to make arrests, and deter violent crime with a visible law enforcement presence”.
On Tuesday night, arrests were made of people suspected of driving under the influence, unlawful entry and resisting arrest, and of an individual with an outstanding warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, the White House official said. Seven illegal firearms were also recovered.
Washington DC is the second US city to which Trump has deployed troops since taking office in January. In June, he ordered US marines and federalized national guard into Los Angeles to quell protests over his immigration crackdown.
Officials in the overwhelmingly Democratic city have chafed at Trump’s deployment, with attorney general Brian Schwalb saying earlier this week that the government was “considering all of our options and will do what is necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents”.
In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News personality recently confirmed as Washington DC’s US attorney, said Trump had drawn “much-needed attention to public safety in this city to make DC safe and beautiful”. She added she would push the city council to change laws around criminal sentencing, particularly for the juveniles she blamed for violence.
“Young criminals have been emboldened to think they can get away with committing crime in this city, and, very often, they do. But together with our local and federal partners, our message to them today is: we will identify you, prosecute you and convict you,” Pirro said.
The 700,000 residents of the federal district have no voting representation in Congress and the president and federal lawmakers have the power to meddle in laws passed by the city council. In addition to deploying the guard, Trump this week took over the police department for the first time ever, exercising a clause in the law outlining the city’s governing structure that was passed in 1973.
