'This is Liberation Day in DC': Trump deploys National Guard to tackle Washington crime

California National Guard troops stand guard outside Glass House Farms during a Federal immigration raid in Camarillo, California, July 10, 2025. (Image used for representational purpose)

US President Donald Trump announced Monday that he was placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploying the National Guard to Washington, DC, aiming to restore order in the nation’s capital.

“I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, you know what that is, and placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control,” Trump said during a White House news conference.

"This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back," he remarked.

Addressing reporters, the president said his actions come in response to a situation that is “something’s out of control, but we’re going to put it in control very quickly, like we did on the southern border.”

“I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC, and they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly,” Trump added.

The move comes after Trump said Sunday that homeless people must be moved "far" from Washington, after days of musing about taking federal control of the US capital where he has falsely suggested crime is rising.

The Community Partnership, a local nonprofit dedicated to reducing homelessness, estimates that on any given night about 3,782 single individuals are homeless in the city of roughly 700,000 residents. Most stay in emergency shelters or transitional housing, but approximately 800 remain unsheltered on the streets.

Even before the possible Guard deployment, the White House confirmed on Friday that extra federal law enforcement officers had been sent to DC after a violent attack on a young Trump administration staffer — an incident that reportedly angered the president, Reuters reported.

On Saturday, federal agents carried out enforcement actions targeting offenses such as unlicensed pistol possession, driving with suspended licenses, and illegal dirt bike riding. Roughly 450 federal officers are currently deployed across the city, according to a White House official.

Earlier this week, Trump also threatened to deploy the National Guard as part of a crackdown on what he falsely says is rising crime in Washington.

Notably, Washington is not among the top 10 US cities for the rate of violent offenses, although it has historically struggled with crime.

The 1990s saw soaring homicide rates, peaking at around 480 deaths in 1991, during a crack cocaine epidemic.

Crime dropped significantly in the 2000s but then surged again after the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2023, homicides reached a 20-year high with 274 lives lost -- a 36 percent increase on the previous year.

However, preliminary data for 2024 indicates a substantial drop, with homicides down by 32 percent compared to 2023, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The decrease has contributed to an overall reduction in violent crime in the city, which is down 35 percent from 2023.

Trump's deployment of National Guard in Washington DC comes weeks after he deployed California's military reserve force into Los Angeles to quell protests over immigration raids, despite objections from local leaders and law enforcement.

The president has frequently mused about using the military to control America's cities, many of which are under Democratic control and hostile to his nationalist impulses.