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Bringing salient White House enactment to the streets of Washington, DC, US Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth person visited with National Guard troops astatine the city’s main bid station.
“We brought immoderate instrumentality and bid back,” the vice president asserted as protesters chanted “free DC” during the latest tense interlude from President Donald Trump’s crackdown successful the nation’s superior connected Wednesday.
“We admit everything you’re doing,” Vance said arsenic helium presented burgers to the troops. Citing the protesters whose shouts echoed done the station, Vance said, “They look to hatred the thought that Americans tin bask their communities.”
Vance’s and Hegseth’s appearance, which besides included White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, was a striking country that illustrated the Republican administration’s aggravated absorption connected the concern successful Washington and its willingness to beforehand an inaugural that has polarised the Democratic-led city.
On August 8, national instrumentality enforcement agencies, including the FBI and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), began patrolling parts of Washington, DC. Days later, connected August 11, President Trump declared a “crime emergency” nether Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which temporarily placed the city’s Metropolitan Police nether national authority.
An estimated 1,900 troops are being deployed successful DC. More than fractional are coming from Republican-led states. Besides Union Station, they’ve mostly been spotted astir downtown areas, including the National Mall and DC Metro stops.
Demonstrators chant portion US Vice President JD Vance, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller sojourn members of the National Guard, astatine Union Station successful Washington, DC, the US, August 20, 2025 [Al Drago/Pool/Reuters]National Guard armoured conveyance crash
The intersection of beingness successful the metropolis and a subject beingness produced different striking country aboriginal connected Wednesday erstwhile an armoured conveyance collided with a civilian car little than a mile (1.6km) from the US Capitol. One idiosyncratic was trapped wrong the car aft the mishap and had to beryllium extricated by exigency responders, according to DC Fire Department spokesperson Vito Maggiolo. The idiosyncratic was transported to a infirmary with insignificant injuries.
It was not instantly wide what caused the crash. A video posted online showed the aftermath of the collision, with a tan-coloured armoured conveyance doubly the tallness of a civilian car with a crushed side.
“You travel to our metropolis and this is what you do? Seriously?” a pistillate yelled astatine the troops successful the video.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said much than 550 radical person been arrested truthful far, and the US Marshals Service is offering $500 rewards for accusation starring to further arrests. “Together, we volition marque DC harmless again!” Bondi wrote connected societal media.
Navigating the situation
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, trying to equilibrium the constituency that elected her and the world successful beforehand of her, acknowledged the changing concern successful the metropolis arsenic she attended a back-to-school lawsuit with teachers and staff.
“This is not the aforesaid time, is it, that we experienced successful opening schoolhouse past year,” she said. Bowser said she would absorption connected the authorities and told schoolhouse employees that “your occupation is to emotion connected the kids, thatch them and marque definite that they are prepared and to spot that I’m going to bash the close happening for each of us”.
Despite the militarised backdrop, Bowser said it’s important that children “have joyousness erstwhile they attack this schoolhouse year”. Public schools astir Washington reconvene Monday for the autumn semester.
The city’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested an mean of 61 adults and juveniles per time successful 2024, according to metropolis statistics. The Trump medication has not specified whether the apprehension totals it has cited see those made by MPD officers oregon lone dwell of those made by national agents.
DC transgression rates person remained mostly unchanged from a twelvemonth ago, according to the constabulary department’s play statistics.
As of Tuesday, the city’s wide transgression complaint is down 7 percent twelvemonth implicit year, the aforesaid percent arsenic earlier the crackdown. DC has besides experienced the aforesaid declines successful convulsive transgression and spot transgression arsenic it did beforehand, according to the data.
Trump has defended his determination to deploy soldiers successful the US superior arsenic indispensable to stem a question of convulsive crime. City officials person rejected that assertion, pointing to national and metropolis statistic that amusement convulsive transgression has declined importantly since a spike successful 2023.
The president has said, without providing evidence, that the transgression information is fraudulent. The US Department of Justice has opened an probe into whether the numbers were manipulated, the Washington Post reported connected Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
Police officers cheque individuals astatine the Anacostia autobus presumption successful Washington, DC, US, August 20, 2025. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]Shotguns and rifles
The White House has touted the fig of guns that instrumentality enforcement has seized since Trump began surging national agents into the city. In a societal media station connected Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the cognition had taken 76 amerciable guns disconnected the streets, on with the much than 500 arrests.
However, the Washington Post reported connected Tuesday that national prosecutors successful DC volition nary longer question charges against radical who interruption a section instrumentality prohibiting individuals from carrying rifles oregon shotguns successful the nation’s capital.
The decision, which represents a interruption from the office’s anterior policy, comes amid what Trump has described arsenic a transgression crackdown successful Washington.
The president has deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and national agents to the city’s streets to combat what helium says is rampant crime, successful an bonzer workout of statesmanlike power.
66 arrests yesterday and 8 amerciable firearms seized. One apprehension was a warrant connected a juvenile for equipped robbery successful Washington DC.
Thank you to our K9, Red, and each the men and women who proceed to enactment hard truthful that Americans tin consciousness harmless successful the nation’s capital! pic.twitter.com/jpcWfTvRhp
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 20, 2025
In a connection provided to Reuters, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the caller argumentation volition not preclude prosecutors from charging radical with different amerciable firearms crimes, specified arsenic a convicted felon recovered successful possession of a gun.
“We volition proceed to prehend each amerciable and unlicensed firearms,” she said.
The DC codification successful question bars anyone from carrying a firearm oregon shotgun with constrictive exceptions. Pirro, a adjacent Trump ally, argued successful a connection to the Washington Post that the instrumentality violates 2 US Supreme Court decisions expanding weapon rights.
In 2008, the tribunal struck down a abstracted DC instrumentality banning handguns and ruled that individuals person the close to support firearms successful their homes for self-defence. In 2022, the tribunal ruled that immoderate gun-control instrumentality indispensable beryllium rooted successful the country’s humanities traditions to beryllium valid.
Unlike US attorneys successful each 50 states, who lone prosecute national offences, the US lawyer successful Washington prosecutes section crimes arsenic well.
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