Aug 16 West Virginia sending hundreds of National Guard troops to DC at Trump team’s request By Matt Brown, Mike Pesoli, Associated Press Members of the West Virginia National Guard will be deployed the streets of the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration’s effort to overhaul policing in the District of Columbia through a federal crackdown on crime and homelessness. Continue reading
Aug 15 Watch Trump’s D.C. takeover reflects efforts to expand his authority, attorney says By Geoff Bennett, Ali Schmitz City officials in Washington are declaring victory after they say the Trump administration backed away from a plan to appoint the nation's DEA chief as an “emergency police commissioner,” a move they call an unprecedented federal power grab. It comes… Continue watching
Aug 15 WATCH: DC Mayor Bowser and AG Schwalb hold briefing on bid to reverse Trump’s takeover By Lindsay Whitehurst, Stephen Groves, Associated Press U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes indicated the law likely doesn’t allow the Trump administration power to fully take over city police, but it probably does give the president more power than the city might like. Continue reading
Aug 14 Watch 6:36 Trump’s D.C. takeover escalates with surge in arrests and homeless encampments cleared By Amna Nawaz, Kayan Taraporevala, Eliot Barnhart, Ali Schmitz The Trump administration’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C. is escalating with arrests at high-profile locations and homeless encampments torn down. Protests also erupted in the streets after the White House said federal agents would patrol around the clock. Amna Nawaz… Continue watching
Aug 14 Bondi fires DOJ employee facing felony charge over throwing sandwich at federal agent By Michael Kunzelman, Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press A man charged with a felony for hurling a sandwich at a federal law-enforcement official in the nation's capital has been fired from his job at the Justice Department, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post Thursday. Continue reading
Aug 13 Watch 8:34 Trump decries crime rates, but his administration has slashed prevention efforts By John Yang, Sam Lane, Jackson Hudgins President Trump moved to take over policing in Washington, D.C. to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime," but the data doesn’t back up many of his claims. Murder and violent crime dropped significantly across the U.S. last year, a trend… Continue watching
Aug 13 5 questions about Trump’s pledge to move homeless people from Washington, DC By Meg Kinnard, Associated Press President Donald Trump says homeless people in the nation's capital will be moved far from the city as part of his federal takeover of policing in the District of Columbia and crackdown on crime. Here’s a look at what we know and what… Continue reading
Aug 13 DC man arrested for hurling sandwich at a federal law enforcement official By Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press A man has been arrested on a charge that he hurled a sandwich at a federal law enforcement official in the nation’s capital amid a surge in law enforcement patrols ordered by the White House, according to a court filing Wednesday. Continue reading
Aug 12 Trump’s DC rhetoric echoes history of racist narratives about urban crime By Matt Brown, Associated Press Trump's rhetoric echoes that of conservative politicians who've denounced cities with majority non-white populations or progressive leaders as crime-ridden and in need of outside intervention. Continue reading
Aug 12 How Trump exaggerates DC crime in taking over its police department and deploying the National Guard By Gabrielle Lazor, Samantha Putterman, Maria Ramirez Uribe, Amy Sherman, PolitiFact The nation’s capital is "becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness," President Donald Trump said at an Aug. 11 press conference. Many of the details he cited do not stand up to scrutiny. Continue reading