FBI Director Kash Patel said early Friday that agents and the agency’s partner made 18 more arrests in Washington, D.C., overnight, bringing the total to 120 since President Trump announced federal officials were taking over the District’s police force.
“18 more arrests with federal partners last night in Washington DC. – 8 firearms recovered from criminals -Multiple seizures of illegal drugs -One arrest on warrant for murder -One arrests on warrant for rape. We’re now over 120 arrests since President Trump’s initiative began. The good cops are getting the job done,” Patel posted on social platform X.
The statistics come after Attorney General Pam Bondi late Thursday named Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole as a new D.C. “emergency police commissioner.”
Local officials, such as D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D), have pushed back, saying the Home Rule Act, under which Trump put the city’s police under federal control, does not allow the federal government to alter its chain of command.
Under the Home Rule Act, Trump can only take federal control for 30 days, but he is now asking Congress to vote on extending that deadline.
“And again, we think the Democrats will not do anything to stop crime, but we think the Republicans will do it almost unanimously,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center on Thursday. “So we’re going to need a crime bill. That we’re going to be putting in, and it’s going to pertain initially to D.C. We’re going to use it as a very positive example.”
Democrats, however, stress that D.C.’s crime statistics do not illustrate excessive violence in the District cited by Trump. Violent crime is down 26 percent when compared to 2024. Last year saw a 32 percent drop in homicides and a 35 percent drop in overall violent crime compared to 2023.
The White House earlier this week said 1,600 personnel were involved in law enforcement operations, making 45 arrests Wednesday.
The Pentagon said 800 Army and Air National Guard troops would be mobilized and on the ground by Thursday. The National Guard cannot make arrests but will collaborate with local law enforcement. Moreover, the Metropolitan Police Department will assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement in conducting mass deportations around the District.
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