The National Guard troops would not have the authority to arrest people, though they can detain people until law enforcement arrives.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 11 that he will activate hundreds of National Guard troops to be in the nation’s capital to deal with the issue of crime.
“This is Liberation Day in D.C. and we’re going to take our Capitol back,” Trump said at a press conference. “We’re taking it back under the authorities vested in me as the president of the United States.”
Trump invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, which puts control of the Metropolitan Police Department under the president for 48 hours.
Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi is “taking command of the Metropolitan Police Department” and Terry Cole, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, is “designated as the interim federal commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department.”
The National Guard troops would not have the authority to arrest people, though they can detain people until law enforcement arrives.
“The Mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser, is a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances, and the Crime Numbers get worse, and the City only gets dirtier and less attractive,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Aug. 10 ahead of the announcement.
Appearing on MSNBC on Aug. 10, Bowser said, “We are not experiencing a crime spike.”
Trump announced on Aug. 10 that he would remove homeless people in Washington from the city.
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” he posted on Truth Social.
On Aug. 7, Trump ordered an increase in federal law enforcement in the nation’s capital.
“President Trump has directed an increased presence of federal law enforcement to protect innocent citizens,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Epoch Times.
The operation, led by U.S. Park Police, involves officers from the U.S. Capitol Police; Homeland Security Investigations; the Federal Protective Service; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Enforcement and Removal Operations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Marshals Service; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The number of officers had not been disclosed.
