Donald Trump issued a directive to the secretary of defense on Monday authorizing the National Guard to be deployed to take over law enforcement duties in Washington, D.C.
In a memorandum with the subject line, “Restoring Law and Order in the District of Columbia,” Trump claimed that the nation’s capitol has lost control of public order and safety and used the deaths two Israeli embassy staff members in May, among other crimes, as his reasoning for the decision.
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were allegedly gunned down by Elias Rodriguez outside of the Jewish museum after leaving an event in May. Police claimed that Rodriguez told them, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” A federal court in Washington indicted Rodriguez last week on hate crime and murder charges. The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which would allow the Justice Department to potentially pursue the death penalty.
In June, a congressional intern, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, was shot and killed in northwest Washington, D.C. when he was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. No arrests have been made. His mother, Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym, suggested last week that Trump should take over the law enforcement operations “until they [city leadership] can get their act together and start prosecuting these juveniles and these people to the fullest extent of the law and not slap their hands so they can go out and do it again and get into more violent crime as they age.”
Finally, last week, a DOGE employee was beaten in what has been called a carjacking by up to eight juvenile suspects. Two suspects, both 15-years-old, have been arrested for the crime and the search continues for the others.
At the time, Trump took to social media and expressed his opinion that the federal government should take control of the city if local officials could not curb crime.
“If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,” Trump wrote.
Despite Trump’s claims that crime has soared in Washington, D.C., the numbers paint a different picture.
“Compared to where it was two years ago, when it really peaked in 2023, it’s down 50%,” Jeff Asher, a national crime analyst, told ABC News.
Asher went on to note that the level of violent crime in the area has dropped below what it was in 2020 during the pandemic.
According to crime stats from the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department, violent crime hit 274 in 2023. But, in the first seven months of this year, overall violent crime has dropped 26%, homicides have decreased 12%, sexual assaults are down nearly 50%, assaults with a dangerous weapon have fallen 20%, and robberies are down nearly 30%.
In Monday’s memorandum, Trump said that, “The mobilization and duration of duty shall remain in effect until I determine that conditions of law and order have been restored in the District of Columbia.” However, by federal law, presidents can only exercise this authority for 30 days and then Congress must review and determine the next steps.
