OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:18 AM – Monday, August 11, 2025
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the Washington, D.C., police department will be placed under federal control, and he is deploying the National Guard to curb ongoing violent crime in the nation’s capital.
Prior to the announcement on the podium in the White House, President Trump released a Truth Social, announcing that “Washington, D.C. will be LIBERATED today!”
“Crime, Savagery, Filth, and Scum will DISAPPEAR. I will, MAKE OUR CAPITAL GREAT AGAIN! The days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people, are OVER! I quickly fixed the Border (ZERO ILLEGALS in last 3 months!), D.C. is next!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT,” Trump added.
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The White House also released a chart revealing the murder rate in Washington, D.C., was 27.54 per 100,000 in 2024, which was substantially higher than the capital cities in several other nations, including Bogota, Mexico City, Islamabad, Lima, Ottawa, Paris, Havana, Delhi, London, and Madrid.
The White House news conference began with Trump stating that he wishes to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor.”
“This is a tragic emergency. And it’s embarrassing for me to be up here,” Trump stated. “I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was, with graffiti all over the walls.”
“This is not a big area,” he continued. “What you need is rules and regulations, and you need the right people to implement them.”
President Trump went on to reveal that he had signed an executive order and a presidential memorandum to invoke presidential powers under the Home Rule Act, thereby lawfully federalizing the city’s police force for 30 days.
“We have slums here. We get rid of them. I know it’s not politically correct. You’ll say, oh, so terrible. No. We get rid of the slums where they live, caravans of mass youth rampage through city streets at all times of the day,” Trump stated. “It’s becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness.”
“We will bring in the military if it’s needed. By the way, we’re going to have National Guard,” he continued, noting that the joint law enforcement operation will “immediately begin massive enforcement operations targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks, to get them the hell off the street, maybe get them out of the country, because a lot of them came into our country illegally.”
The president stated that the operation will also include beautification of the nation’s capital.
“We’re also talking about beautification. We’re the most beautiful, potentially, capital in the world,” Trump revealed. “People come from Iowa, they come from Indiana, they come and then they get mugged. Not going to happen. Keep coming, because … by the time you get your trip set, it’s going to be safe again, and it’s going to be clean.”
“We’re going to be removing homeless encampments from all over our parks, our beautiful, beautiful parks, which now a lot of people can’t walk on,” Trump added. “Some of those people are from different countries, different parts of the world. Nobody knows who they are. They have no idea. But they’re there, getting rid of the people from underpasses and public spaces from all over the city. There are many places that they can go, and we’re going to help them as much as you can help, but they’ll not be allowed to turn our capital into a wasteland for the world to see.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi also spoke at the conference, highlighting the role U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro will play in ensuring violent criminals serve time behind bars for violent crimes.
“Our secret weapon here in D.C. is U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, one of the toughest prosecutors and a former judge,” Bondi stated. “No more crime rampant in our beautiful capital. No more teenage girls beating a disabled man to death. No more of that, no more drive-bys. We’re going to do everything we can.”
Additionally, President Trump stated that he hopes other cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, will be encouraged to “self-clean up,” or he may take similar steps to reduce violent crime and homelessness.
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