Trump's Ineffective D.C. Crackdown: Nearly 2,000 Officers Made Fewer Than 400 Arrests in 10 Days
And a lot of those were for drug possession, gun possession, and other minor offenses.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump took control of the police in Washington, D.C.
On August 11, Trump declared a "crime emergency" in D.C., ordering "operational control of the Metropolitan Police Department" (MPD) to be "delegated to the Attorney General." He also authorized the deployment of National Guard troops and other federal law enforcement officers throughout the district. Ever since, federal authorities have been out in force, rounding up suspected criminals as well as motorbikes.
The takeover was nominally meant to protect D.C. residents from violent criminals run amok. But is that actually happening? Or are authorities just rounding people up for possessing drugs and handguns without the government's permission?
The evening of August 11, the White House posted an update. "Multi-agency task forces are hitting the streets of Washington, D.C., cleaning up crime and keeping our neighborhoods SAFE," the post claimed. "In just ONE NIGHT," agents "arrested 37 criminals," "seized 11 illegal firearms," and "issued 4 narcotic charges." In a thread, the White House showed photos of numerous arrestees and listed charges such as "failure to appear for trial on an assault offense," "carrying a pistol without a license," and "possession with intent to distribute."
"There have been over 380 total arrests since the start of the operation on Thursday, August 7," a White House official told Reason on Monday. In the process, "59 firearms have been seized" and "over 160 illegal aliens have been arrested, including known gang members and those with additional charges: assault, kidnapping, burglary, larceny, commercialized sexual offenses, smuggling illegal drugs like heroin, and more."
The official added that on Sunday night alone, "there were a total of 69 arrests" and "6 illegal firearms were seized." There were also arrests for carrying a pistol without a license, driving under the influence, possession with intent to distribute, and "possession of a prohibited weapon—12" knife." Agents also nabbed four people who had arrest warrants for misdemeanor offenses.
This was the result, the official noted, of "22 multi-agency teams" deployed throughout the entire city, encompassing "over 1,950 participants."
The president deployed nearly 2,000 law enforcement officers into a city supposedly teeming with criminals. And yet the effort netted some 380 arrests in 10 days, and many of the charges the administration has bragged about are for low-level nonviolent offenses, such as possession of narcotics or carrying a pistol without a license.
"Congrats on cracking down on crime, but…carrying a pistol without a license isn't a crime, it's a constitutionally protected right," Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) wrote in posts on X. "In high crime areas like DC, people rely on their right to keep and bear arms to keep them safe. I do."
Granted, misdemeanor assaults and driving under the influence should not be dismissed. And while Trump has a history of rounding up supposedly hardened criminal migrants with no criminal records, it's possible some of the "over 160 illegal aliens" arrested in D.C. really are "known gang members" or have committed "assault, kidnapping, burglary, larceny," and more.
But many of the charges hardly merit the involvement of a multiagency federal task force funneling hundreds of agents into the city. Not to mention, the agents being funneled into the capital are not the best equipped to handle the task at hand.
"Federal agents assigned to patrol Washington as part of the federal takeover of the US capital are taking on duties that fall outside their usual jobs, provoking consternation that they've been diverted from work they were trained for to tasks they've never done," wrote Bloomberg's Myles Miller.
"National Guard troops are generally not trained in local policing or de-escalation and should never be used for federal immigration purposes," added the American Civil Liberties Union. "President Trump has also ordered FBI personnel and other federal officers, who similarly are not trained for local policing, to patrol the city."
Nevertheless, the Republican governors of Ohio, South Carolina, and West Virginia all agreed to deploy up to 750 of their own National Guard troops to D.C.
"I'm all for cracking down on crime in DC," Massie wrote, "but arresting law abiding citizens and confiscating their firearms solely because they don't have government paperwork will not ultimately improve public safety. 29 states have proven this by recognizing permitless-carry."
