Washington, D.C., City Council member Charles Allen said President Trump’s decision to federalize his city’s police to respond to crime is a “dangerous escalation of power” that is also misguided.
“The President taking over local control of MPD & putting the US military onto the streets of DC under the guise of public safety is wrong,” Allen wrote on the social platform X. “It’s an extreme, outrageous, and dangerous move for our city and the safety of all our residents.”
Allen, the subject of a recall effort over crime last year, said every American should be concerned about what Trump is doing in the nation’s capital.
“National Guard soldiers are trained for warfare & natural disasters, not for community policing,” Allen wrote.
“Today’s announcement will put untrained and unaccountable members of the military in an untenable position in our communities. It’s unnecessary, unwarranted, & a dangerous escalation of power in the Nation’s Capital simply because he can,” Allen said.
He also suggested the effort could be about Trump trying to distract the country from other issues.
“It might make sense if he’s trying to create compelling TV and distract folks from the real scandals he’s facing, but it doesn’t make our city safer & it’s a dangerous abuse of power and authority,” Allen wrote.
Trump said he was taking action because of what he and other officials argued was rampant crime in Washington.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it,” Trump said.
His decisions come a week after a high-profile incident in which a 19-year-old federal employee was left bloodied and beaten near Logan Circle in D.C.
Under the Home Rule Act, Trump can temporarily take control of the District’s police department if he determines “special conditions of an emergency nature exist.” The president announced Monday he was declaring a public safety emergency in the District.
Crime rates in D.C. are high, though data also shows crime has fallen since a postpandemic high. Data from the District shows violent crime is also down so far in 2025 compared with the previous year.
Allen was the subject of a recall petition campaign last year that failed to get enough signatures to make the ballot. The councilman was targeted over his record and positions on crime amid a spike in carjackings and killings in his ward after the pandemic.
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