National Guard deployment in DC sparks clash over crime claims

English , International - بین الاقوامی , Snippets , / Thursday, August 14th, 2025

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 — National Guard troops have appeared across Washington DC following President Donald Trump’s order to deploy 800 Guard members and 500 federal law enforcement agents to the capital. The move comes as the White House claims violent crime is “out of control,” a characterization strongly disputed by the city’s leadership.
Armoured vehicles and uniformed personnel were seen at tourist sites and outside government buildings, erecting barricades and interacting with visitors. Federal agents made 23 arrests on Monday night, citing offences including homicide, gun crimes, drug trafficking, and reckless driving. The FBI confirmed involvement in about half the arrests.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, called the deployment an “authoritarian push,” urging residents to defend the city’s autonomy and home rule. At a town hall, she pressed for a Democratic House majority to counter the president’s actions.
Despite the federal surge, city crime statistics show a different picture. Violent offences in DC fell to their lowest level in three decades in 2024, with preliminary 2025 data indicating a further 26 percent drop. Robbery is down 28 percent compared with last year, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Police Chief Pamela Smith welcomed the additional resources, emphasizing the need to remove illegal guns from the streets. However, the DC Police Union has accused city authorities of manipulating crime figures to present an overly positive narrative.
The deployment coincides with an ongoing manhunt for a rifle-wielding suspect who killed a man in Logan Circle, marking the city’s 100th homicide of the year.
Trump has warned that the DC operation is “only the beginning,” signalling potential similar deployments in other Democrat-led cities such as New York and Chicago.