Trump deploys the National Guard to Washington DC and promises a crime repression

President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington DC and took control of the city’s police forces when he undertakes to repress crime and homelessness in the national capital.

Trump said a “public security emergency” on Monday, deploying 800 national guard troops which will strengthen hundreds of federal law enforcement agents that were deployed this weekend.

“It becomes a situation of complete and total anarchy,” he told journalists in the White House.

The mayor of the city Muriel Bowser rejected the allegations of the president on crime and although there was a peak in 2023, the statistics show that she has fallen since then. Violent crimes in the city are also a hollow of 30 years.

“I am announcing a historic action to save the capital of our country from crime, blood, Bedlam and misery and worse,” said Trump at a press conference in which he was flanked by the American prosecutor Pam Bondi, who will lead the city’s police when it is under federal control.

“It is the Liberation Day at DC, and we will resume our capital,” he said.

Trump said Washington DC was “taken care of by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals” as well as “drug addicts and homeless”.

According to data from the city’s metropolitan police service, homicides dropped 32% between 2023 and 2024 and have reached their lowest level since 2019.

There was another substantial drop this year by 12%, according to data.

Mayor Bowser, a Democrat, admitted that there had been a “terrible” peak in crime in 2023, which reflected a national trend, but she rejected any affirmation of a crime in the city.

“We don’t know a crime peak,” she told MSNBC on Sunday. “The president is very aware of our efforts.”

Asked about the comments of the Deputy Chief of the White House, Stephen Miller, how Washington is more violent than Baghdad, Bowser said that “any comparison with a country torn by war is hyperbolic and false”.

Of the 800 troops of the National Guard which will be activated, between 100 and 200 will be deployed and will support the police at any time, the army said in a statement.

In addition to this deployment, Trump said that he would place the city’s police department under direct control of federal control using the Columbia district rule law.

This law was established by former president Richard Nixon to allow residents of Washington DC – which is the only American city which is not in any of the 50 states – to elect a municipal council and a mayor.

But it also has a warning which allows the president to take control of the city’s police forces if “special conditions of an emergency of emergency exist”.

If the president intends to take control of more than 48 hours, he must provide a written opinion at the Congress. And even if this opinion is provided, they cannot keep control of the police for more than 30 days.

On Sunday, asked about the possibility that the president takes control of the city police service, the mayor Bowser said: “There are very specific things in our law which would allow (this). None of these conditions exist in our city at the moment.”

She said she was “concerned” by the National Guard applying local laws.

The mayor’s office has not yet responded to a request for comments from the BBC on Monday’s Trump’s announcement.

In addition to the crime, Trump also spoke for a long time of roaming in Washington DC.

“We get rid of the slums,” he said, without giving more details. He said that the homeless would be sent elsewhere but did not say where.

Trump added that “everything should be perfect” when dignitaries and foreign leaders visit the city.

“It is a very strong reflection of our country,” he said. “If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty and they do not respect us.”

Local groups working with homeless in the capital have told the BBC that they had really seen progress in recent years.

Sans -Abrisme is down almost 20% for people in Washington DC in 2025, against five years, said Ralph Boyd, president and chief executive officer, others could eat (some) – a group that provides people in the city housing, clothing and other social services.

He also said that Trump’s proposal to get people out of the city was not a long -term solution.

“All he will do is transfer the problem elsewhere in communities that may be less equipped to cope with it,” said Boyd.

Meanwhile, outside the White House, demonstrators concerned about Trump’s actions gathered and sang “Hands Off DC” and “Protect Home Rule”.

“Trump does not care about DC’s security, he cares about control,” said an event speaker.

The president’s actions have followed a series of social media publications in recent days when he has criticized the management of Washington DC. Trump has long complained about the city’s democratic leaders for their treatment of crime and roaming.

He also responded with anger to a former employee of the Ministry of Effectiveness of the Government (DOGE) who was recently attacked in the city.

At the press conference on Monday, Trump said that the employee had been “wildly beaten by a band of itinerant thugs” and was “left to drip blood”.

He also mentioned other employees of the federal government and elected officials who have been attacked, including a democratic legislator and an intern.

“It’s a threat to America,” said Trump.

The first time that Trump has deployed the National Guard was in June, when he ordered 2,000 national guards from Los Angeles to face the troubles on raids on undocumented migrants.

The last time the National Guard was deployed in Washington DC was in response to the Capitol riot in 2021.