As Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington DC’s police entered its second week, and six states vowed to send hundreds of additional national guard troops to assist the administration, residents questioned why federal agents seem to be largely patrolling high-profile but low-crime parts of the nation’s capital.
The Washington Post has tracked where federal forces are patrolling the city, finding that few interactions have been witnessed in the parts of the city with the highest rates of crime. The White House refuted that claim on Tuesday, saying that “nearly half of non-immigration related arrests have happened in the most crime-hit areas in DC”, but before Tuesday, the White House had been releasing data showing many of their arrests were of undocumented immigrants, and few federal agents have been spotted addressing or responding to violent crime.
Instead, Washingtonians have seen officers from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and other offices standing around prominent tourist sites and nightlife corridors, responding to minor disturbances and creating disturbances of their own.
Related: Washington DC restaurants suffer sharp drop in diners since Trump crackdown
Over the weekend, several military vehicles were seen outside Union Station, positioned next to where passengers find their ride share vehicles. The Department of Defense posted a photo of a tan Humvee outside the train station on X on Saturday and said: “This We’ll Defend.”
Federal agents and vehicles have also been spotted across the National Mall, including the Lincoln Memorial, where violent crime is virtually nonexistent. Visible confrontations between federal officers and protesters have also occurred along 14th Street, a popular nightlife destination.
Amanda Moore, a Washington-based writer and researcher, wrote on X early Saturday morning that she witnessed “15 federal agents call an ambulance for a very, very drunk and sick girl” in Dupont Circle, another center of nightlife. Stan Veuger, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute thinktank, joked on X, referring to the “department of government efficiency”: “I was wrong about Doge. The federal government is efficient now.”
In the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, which is home to a large Hispanic population, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) shared a video on Sunday of at least seven agents taking down a banner supporting immigrant neighbors from a public park. “Mount Pleasant melts Ice,” the banner read.
After removing it, a masked agent says: “Mine. We’re taking America back baby.” According to a local reporter and a neighbor’s surveillance camera footage, the agents left a dildo in its place. The banner was quickly replaced.
Trump has tried to depict the nation’s capital as a city rife with violent crime, but violent crime is at a 30-year low after a spike in 2023. The president has stated, without evidence, that crime data is manipulated and rates are worse than they appear.
Washingtonians have noted how quiet nightlife felt during the first weekend of the federal takeover, although August is typically a slower period in the capital with Congress on recess. On a busy stretch of the heavily Hispanic Columbia Heights neighborhood where street vendors typically sell anything from fruits to clothing, the streets have been empty.
Democrats in Congress last week introduced a joint resolution to end what they described as “egregious attacks on DC home rule” and the city secured a small legal victory late last week when the White House agreed to leave the Metropolitan police department (MPD) under the control of its chief, Pamela Smith.
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