U.S. residents have criticized the deployment of National Guard troops and federal agents to Washington D.C. streets, after President Donald Trump declared a public safety emergency that stripped control from local police.
On Monday, President Trump ordered National Guard troops to take charge of crime-fighting in Washington, D.C., signaling that more U.S. cities could face similar measures.
By Tuesday, these troops assumed visible posts near iconic landmarks such as the Washington Monument, while federal officers—including those from the FBI, Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement—flooded the streets, leading to several arrests.
The next day, most neighborhoods in Washington D.C. remained quiet. In Mount Pleasant, federal officers in two vehicles were spotted conducting an operation at a building. Their activities were unclear, and no arrests appeared to have been made.
William Thompson lives nearby and admitted there are problems with crime, but said the neighborhood needs more resources for young people, not more police.
"I think it's just a waste of time. I don't think (so). For what? All they're going to do is go to bed and come back out and do the same thing," he said.
A few blocks away in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, residents said federal officers were making arrests overnight.
"I don't like it. You know, it's necessary to try to reduce the crime, but I don't like it at all. It's really sending the wrong message. It's like it's not American. It's not American. This is almost like some other kind of government that would do something like this," said Sherard, another Washington D.C. resident.
The current public safety emergency expires in less than a month, but Trump said Wednesday that he will submit a crime bill and ask Congress for approval to extend the federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Residents alarmed as Trump deploys National Guard, federal agents to D.C. streets
Residents alarmed as Trump deploys National Guard, federal agents to D.C. streets
Residents alarmed as Trump deploys National Guard, federal agents to D.C. streets
