President Trump stated on Monday that he is taking federal control of the police department in Washington and is sending 800 National Guard troops there due to the critical level of crime, which he said is 'out of control.' He also added that he is ready to send the military to Washington 'if necessary.'
'Today is a day of liberation in the District of Columbia, and we will take back our capital. The murder rate in Washington today is higher than in Bogota, Colombia. The number of car thefts has doubled in the last five years, and the number of armed carjackings has more than tripled,' the president said. Meanwhile, in January of this year, federal authorities announced that the level of violent crime in the city is at a 30-year low, notes The New York Times.
The Trump administration also plans to temporarily assign 120 FBI agents in Washington to night patrols as part of anti-corruption measures, a source told the publication.
As NYT writes, when talking about the high crime rate, Trump listed familiar targets like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but did not mention cities in 'red' states with the highest murder rates: Memphis, St. Louis, or New Orleans. He also ignored the most violent episode in the city's recent history: the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, when his supporters attempted to stop the certification of the 2020 election results, which he lost.
This summer, Trump already sent about 5,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles with orders to help suppress protests that erupted due to immigration raids.