Trump deploys National Guard in Washington crime crackdown

Washington: Donald Trump on Monday deployed military and federal law enforcement to curb violent crime in Washington, as he seeks to make good on his campaign pledge to be a "law and order" president.

The Republican leader said he would place the city's Metropolitan Police under federal government control while also sending the National Guard onto the streets of the US capital.

The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged - although violent offenses are down.

"This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back," Trump said.

Trump - a convicted felon who granted blanket clemency to nearly 1,600 people involved in the 2021 US Capitol riot in Washington - has complained that local police and prosecutors aren't tough enough.

He said 800 DC National Guardsmen - "and much more if necessary" - would be deployed to the city of 700,000.

As Trump was speaking at the White House, several dozen demonstrators gathered outside.

"There is absolutely no need for the National Guard here," said 62-year-old retiree Elizabeth Critchley, who brandished a sign with the slogan "DC says freedom not fascism."

"It's all for show. It's just a big theater," she said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was among several cabinet officials flanking Trump, said "other specialized" National Guard units could also be deployed.

"They will be strong, they will be tough, and they will stand with their law enforcement partners," he said.

The new approach echoes Trump's immigration policies that have effectively sealed the southern border amid mass deportations while deploying active-duty troops against protesters in Los Angeles.

The president told reporters he planned to roll out the policy to other cities, spotlighting New York and Chicago.

Unlike the 50 states, Washington operates under a unique relationship with the federal government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters.

Since the mid-1970s, the Home Rule Act has allowed residents to elect a mayor and a city council, although Congress still controls the city's budget.

Data from Washington police show significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, although that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.

Trump posted on social media ahead of the news conference that he also wants to tackle homeless encampments, after signing an order last month making it easier to arrest homeless people.

He promised individuals "places to stay," but "FAR from the Capital." Trump said criminals would be jailed and that it would all happen "very fast."

Federal law enforcement have already increased their presence after a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer was beaten during an attempted carjacking.

"Last week my administration surged 500 federal agents into the district including from the FBI, ATF, DEA, Park Police, the US Marshals Service, the Secret Service, and the Department of Homeland Security," Trump said.

"You know a lot of nations, they don't have anything like that... They made dozens of arrests."

A Gallup poll in October found that 64 percent of Americans believed crime had risen in 2024, although FBI data shows the lowest levels of violent crime nationwide in more than half a century.

"Let me be crystal clear - crime in DC is ending, and it's ending today," said Attorney General Pam Bondi.