Trump places DC police under federal control

Alongside the police control, the president ordered the deployment of National Guard forces. “I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC, and they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly,” Trump said, adding that officers would have authority to act decisively: “We’re not going to lose our cities over this.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that 800 soldiers have been activated as part of the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” with 100–200 directly supporting law enforcement.

In recent months, the Secretary said the National Guard has played similar roles, both at the border, where troops have worked alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to put a stop to illegal border crossings, and in Los Angeles, where they helped protect ICE and CBP agents from criminal attacks.

Now, the D.C. National Guard will contribute by helping to stop violence on city streets in the nation's capital.

"We will work alongside all D.C. police and federal law enforcement to ensure this city is safe [and] this city is beautiful," Hegseth said, adding, "As I always say about President Trump to the troops, 'He has their back.' And my message to the National Guard and federal law enforcement in Washington is, 'We have your back as well. Be tough. Be strong. We're right behind you.'"

Citing high crime rates and recent violent incidents, Trump vowed to improve safety and address urban decay. “We’re going to restore the city back to the gleaming capital that everybody wants it to be,” he concluded.

Earlier, it was reported that the state of California have filed a 22-page legal action against President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops in Los Angeles, claiming it violated the Constitution and state authority.