The Trump administration’s crackdown on violent crime in Washington, D.C., has led to more than 240 arrests and the seizure of 38 guns, according to a White House official who spoke with Fox News.
The sweeping operation has targeted gang members, robbery suspects, and immigration violators. On Friday alone, 52 individuals were arrested — including 28 illegal immigrants — while authorities also recovered three firearms.
Federal teams dismantled 25 homeless encampments, which officials said were cleared without confrontation or arrests.
White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller praised the scope of the actions, calling the results “breathtaking.”
“We have seen a record number of violent offenders, bad guys, gang members and all kinds of threats to public safety removed from the streets, along with their illegal weapons that they’ve been using to terrorize the citizens of this city,” Miller told Fox News Live.
He also noted that more than 70 homeless encampments had been removed and that the National Park Service was working to erase graffiti that had “scarred and disfigured” public spaces for years.
The initiative began quietly on Aug. 7 with the launch of the “Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful” task force, created by President Donald Trump in March through an executive order.
On Aug. 11, Trump escalated the effort by temporarily seizing federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under emergency powers in the Home Rule Act — the first such move in U.S. history.
The order places the MPD under federal oversight for up to 30 days, unless extended by Congress, and included the deployment of 800 National Guard troops.
In total, 22 multi-agency teams with more than 1,800 personnel were mobilized across the city’s seven police districts as the president vowed to “take our capital back.”
“We have a capital that’s very unsafe. … Something’s out of control. But we’re going to put it in control very quickly,” Trump said Monday.
Authorities reported additional arrests linked to drug distribution, weapons violations, outstanding warrants, reckless driving, assaults with dangerous weapons, kidnapping, and attempts to evade police.
The D.C. National Guard also conducted patrols on foot and in vehicles around the National Mall and Union Station. Officials emphasized that while Guardsmen remain armed, they are not making arrests but are instead protecting federal property and supporting police operations.
Trump began considering federalizing law enforcement in D.C. after the brutal assault of a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee during an alleged attempted carjacking in Logan Circle. He formally invoked the Home Rule Act on Monday to expand the crackdown.
Democrats and local officials criticized the move, noting that the MPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported violent crime had fallen to a 30-year low, with a 35% decrease from 2023 to 2024.
However, FBI data for the same period showed only about a 9% decline, underscoring a sharp discrepancy between local and federal crime statistics due to differences in how cases are classified and reported.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the federal action “unsettling and unprecedented,” while congressional Democrats introduced a joint resolution aimed at halting the takeover.
