"Declaring a Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia" is an executive order issued by U.S. president Donald Trump in August 2025.
On August 11, 2025, Trump switched control of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC) from the city government of Washington, D.C., to the federal government, invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act for the first time in history. Under a separate presidential memorandum and subsequent executive order, Trump also deployed federal law enforcement agencies, the District of Columbia National Guard, and the National Guards of multiple states in response to what he claimed was "rampant crime" in the city, though statistics showed that the city was amidst a 30-year low in crime and that crime was decreasing in 2024–2025. However, a Washington, D.C., police commissioner was placed on leave for allegedly falsifying crime data in mid-May, and the city police union has claimed that underreporting of crime is a systemic problem.
The order federalizing control of the MPDC expired on September 10, but the Secretary of the Army initially extended the National Guard deployment to November 30, and the Secretary of Defense subsequently extended the deployment to February 28, 2026. On September 4, the Attorney General for the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to block the National Guard deployment. On November 20, a federal judge ruled that the National Guard deployment was not lawful and issued an order directing the administration to end the deployment but stayed the ruling. After announcing within a day of the ruling that it intended to file an appeal, the Trump administration did so on November 26. On the same day the appeal was filed, two West Virginia National Guard soldiers deployed to the District were shot, and Trump ordered the deployment of 500 additional National Guard troops in response.
In January 2026, the National Guard deployment was extended to the end of the year. The next month, a minority staff report issued by the Senate Homeland Security Committee estimated that the National Guard deployment to the District from August 2025 through the end of February 2026 would cost $332 million (or $602 million on an annualized basis), which compared with a $599 million budget for the MPDC for fiscal year 2026. As noted by the U.S. Justice Department and District Mayor Muriel Bowser, crime statistics from before the National Guard deployment showed falling violent crime and property crime rates in the District.
Background
The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPD) is normally under control of the city government. Section 1–207.40 of the D.C. Home Rule Act, entitled "Emergency Control of Police" requires the mayor of D.C. to provide to the president "such services of the Metropolitan Police force as the President may deem necessary and appropriate" whenever the president determines that "special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for federal purposes". The President is required to notify the leaders of the Committee on the District of Columbia of the Senate and the House of Representatives in writing within 48 hours. The law requires Congress to approve the action within 30 days if it is in session, or after coming into session; otherwise, the services end.
On August 4, 2025, Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old former DOGE employee also known as "Big Balls", was assaulted by two 15-year-old boys, according to MPD, which arrived and apprehended the two suspects. However, city and federal statistics show the number of violent crimes in the District are at their lowest in the last 30 years.
Timeline
August 8, 2025: Federal agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other agencies began patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C. President Trump administratively reassigned them to work under the direction of the United States Park Police. August 11: Trump invoked Section 740, declaring a public safety emergency of rampant crime in the city. Trump at the same time announced the deployment of 800 troops from the District of Columbia National Guard, with 100-200 expected to be on duty at any given time. Both would be commanded by the head of the U.S. Marshals Service under the United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi. Federal officials do not have the authority to arrest people for minor crimes, even in the federal district, and so would need to detain any suspected criminals and wait for the D.C. Metropolitan Police to arrive and perform the arrest. In an attempt to support his claims, Trump cited a chart from social media containing several errors and out-of-date statistics. He also falsely claimed that "murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever". In 2023, D.C. had a homicide rate of 39.4 per 100,000, about seven times the national homicide rate of 5.6. However, D.C. recorded higher homicide rates in the 1990s. Furthermore, in 2024, city and federal crime statistics showed violent crime in the district at a 30-year low after reaching a 20-year high the year before, with the homicide rate dropping by 30% to 27.4 per 100,000. August 15: United States Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed acting DEA administrator Terry Cole as "emergency police commissioner". Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb criticized the move as unlawful, stating that the federalization of police did not authorize the administration to change the MPD chain of command, with Schwalb filing a lawsuit against the appointment in federal court. The Trump administration then negotiated with the Bowser administration, allowing Pamela Smith, the D.C. police chief, to remain in charge.
August 16: The Republican governors of Ohio, South Carolina, and West Virginia announced that they would be sending hundreds of National Guard or military police from their states. August 18: The Republican governor of Mississippi announced that he would send the National Guard from his state. August 19: The Republican governors of Louisiana and Tennessee announced that they would also send hundreds of National Guard personnel from their states to D.C. August 25: Trump signed Executive Order 14339, "Additional Measures To Address the Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia", and Executive Order 14340, "Measures To End Cashless Bail and Enforce the Law in the District of Columbia". August 26: National Guard members were assigned to over 40 "beautification projects" in D.C., including picking up trash and spreading mulch on the grounds of the National Mall and other federal property. August 27: The Trump administration took control of Union Station, which had been managed by Amtrak. November 10: A West Virginia Circuit Court Judge in Kanawha County ruled that the deployment of the West Virginia National Guard did not violate state law. November 26: Two West Virginia National Guardsmen were shot outside Farragut West station. One of the soldiers died of her injuries. July 2026: The pentagon confirms the deployment will continue until Inauguration Day 2029. July 2026: The administration announced a million housing contract for up to 2,000 people in the National Guard.
Protests Some local residents protested the increased presence of federal law enforcement and the National Guard. A checkpoint on 14th St, a popular nightlife area, was met with a crowd of about 100 protestors, some who jeered at the officers and others who warned approaching drivers about the checkpoint, which eventually was disbanded later that night.
On August 16, hundreds of protesters rallied at Dupont Circle and then marched to the White House.
D.C.'s grand jury declined to indict at least four people who were arrested. Brendan Ballou, a former prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District said "Not only have I never heard of this happening, I've never heard of a prosecutor who's heard of this happening."
Among those who were charged was Sean Dunn. Dunn was charged with felony assault after allegedly throwing a submarine sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol agent. He had worked as a paralegal for the Department of Justice and was fired after his arrest. He became known as "sandwich guy", and some protesters lauded him in their signs, such as one that said "One Small Sub for Man… One Giant Gesture for Democracy". Banksy-style posters were also put up around D.C. with a man wielding a hoagie. Other images showed Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for D.C., Stephen Miller, a Trump advisor, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth being hit in the head with hoagies. The White House had drawn attention to Dunn's actions and arrest with what The Daily Beast described as "an over-the-top video showing heavily armed agents carrying out his arrest, despite his attorney saying he had previously offered to surrender willingly". A grand jury refused to indict him of the felony charge the government brought against Dunn. After that legal failure, a misdemeanor charge was brought against Dunn for the same actions. The jury hearing the subsequent trial declared Dunn not guilty of assault.Kunzelman, Michael, Man who threw sandwich at federal agent in Washington is found not guilty of assault charge, Associated Press, November 6, 2025
On September 6, thousands of people joined the "We Are All D.C." march, protesting the National Guard presence and carrying signs such as "Trump must go now", "Free DC", and "Resist Tyranny". One of the protesters interviewed by Reuters said "I'm here to protest the occupation of D.C. We're opposing the authoritarian regime, and we need to get the federal police and the National Guard off our streets", and another said "What they're trying to do in D.C. is what they're trying to do with other dictatorships. They're testing D.C., and if people tolerate it enough, they're gonna do it to more and more areas. So we have to stop it while we still can."
Students at Georgetown, Howard, George Washington, and American universities held a walkout and protest on September 10.
Analysis Troops were mobilized from Republican-led states which had 10 cities with higher crime rates than D.C. Trump said the deployment brought "total safety" and a "miracle" reduction in crime, citing a week without murders, though data at the time showed violent crime was already declining in 2024–2025. Before the military intervention, crime statistics showed D.C. being in a record 30-year low in crime, although there was a small spike in lethality in 2023 that since came down.
According to preliminary MPD data, there was a moderate decrease in reported crime in the first week of the policy compared to the week before, but the decrease was spread unevenly across different types, with robberies and automobile break-ins down 40% but burglary and assault with a dangerous weapon up 6% and 14% respectively. The administration stated that 300 people lacking legal immigration status had been arrested by federal officials in the district that week—ten times higher than usual weekly averages. According to CBS News on 3 October 2025, "internal government data (...) shows nearly 40% of over 3,500 arrests made since the operation began in early August were immigration-related".