WATCH: DC residents – and the DC police – react to Trump’s federal takeover of the city

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Fed-up with the crime and homeless camps overtaking the nation’s capital city, President Donald Trump announced Monday that he was deploying 800 National Guard troops to help gain control of Washington, D.C. and clean the place up.

While the move was praised by the D.C. Police Department, many liberal DC residents took to the streets to protest the federal takeover of their city, claiming that crime was going down.

The activist group held a “Free DC” rally near the White House Monday.

From NBC News:

“We are going to be here and we’re not backing down,” one community activist said at the rally. “Know that the safety of the community is inseperable from its sense of belonging and justice, not its fear of somebody’s uniform. Let us choose a future where safety is earned, not enforced by intimidation.”

Many of the demonstrators wore black t-shirts with the words “Free DC” in white below the emblem of the D.C. flag. They held up signs saying “#TimeToResist” and “Free D.C. release the Epstein files.”

“Around the world, we have seen the rise in authoritarianism. Now we are seeing it here. And what we know from history is that authoritarians always want to control the capital and the people in the capital city. It’s because it’s the fastest way to silent dissent and to accelerate their agenda,” an activist told the crowd. “And I want to be clear that this is not about crime. This is about what Trump is trying to do to D.C. in order to take over D.C. and silence us.”

However, some D.C. residents praised Trump for his efforts to clean up their city.

D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton praised the move, and said in a statement, “We stand with the President in recognizing that Washington, DC, cannot continue on this trajectory. Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits. The federal intervention is a critical stopgap, but the MPD needs proper staffing and support to thrive. This can only happen by repealing the disastrous policies that have driven out our best officers and hindered recruitment.”

The DC Police Union announced Tuesday morning: “Last night, DC suffered the grave milestone of its 100th homicide for 2025. Let’s hope this federal intervention leads to real change to the laws in DC that allow this to happen year after year.”

Meanwhile, D.C. City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is fuming, and released a scorching statement blasting President Trump’s National Guard deployment.

“This is a manufactured intrusion on local authority. Violent crime in the District is at the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years. Federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department is unwarranted because there is no Federal emergency,” he raged.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed, “We’re going to work right alongside our law enforcement partners as force multipliers. This is what the American people voted for. Common sense, clarity, strength…”

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