DC residents protest as White House says federal agents will be on
patrol 24/7
[August 14, 2025]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ASHRAF KHALIL
WASHINGTON (AP) — Residents in one Washington, D.C., neighborhood lined
up Wednesday to protest the increased police presence after the White
House said the number of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital
would ramp up and federal officers would be on the streets around the
clock.
After law enforcement set up a vehicle checkpoint along the busy 14th
Street Northwest corridor, hecklers shouted, “Go home, fascists” and
“Get off our streets.” Some protesters stood at the intersection before
the checkpoint and urged drivers to turn away from it.
The action intensified a few days after President Donald Trump's
unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the
city's police department for at least a month.
The city's Democratic mayor walked a political tightrope, referring to
the takeover as an “authoritarian push” at one point and later framing
the infusion of officers as boost to public safety, though one with few
specific barometers for success. The Republican president has said crime
in the city was at emergency levels that only such federal intervention
could fix — even as District of Columbia leaders pointed to statistics
showing violent crime at a 30-year low after a sharp rise two years ago.
For two days, small groups of federal officers had been visible in
scattered areas of the city. But more were present in high-profile
locations Wednesday and troops were expected to start doing more
missions in Washington on Thursday, according to a National Guard
spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the planning
process.
On Wednesday, agents from Homeland Security Investigations patrolled the
popular U Street corridor. Drug Enforcement Administration officers were
seen on the National Mall, while National Guard members were parked
nearby. DEA agents also joined Metropolitan Police Department officers
on patrol in the Navy Yard neighborhood, while FBI agents stood along
the heavily trafficked Massachusetts Avenue.
Hundreds of federal law enforcement and city police officers who
patrolled the streets Tuesday night made 43 arrests, compared with about
two dozen the night before.
D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson downplayed the arrest reports as
“a bunch of traffic stops” and said the administration was seeking to
disguise how unnecessary this federal intervention is.
“I'm looking at this list of arrests and they sound like a normal
Saturday night in any big city,” said Henderson.
Unlike in other U.S. states and cities, the law gives Trump the power to
take over Washington’s police for up to 30 days. Extending his power
over the city for longer would require approval from Congress, and that
could be tough in the face of Democratic resistance.
Trump suggested he could seek a longer period of control or decide to
call on Congress to exercise authority over city laws his administration
sees as lax on crime. “We’re gonna do this very quickly. But we’re gonna
want extensions. I don’t want to call a national emergency. If I have
to, I will,” he said.
Later, on his Truth Social site, Trump reiterated his claims about the
capital, writing, “D.C. has been under siege from thugs and killers, but
now, D.C. is back under Federal Control where it belongs.”
Henderson, who worked for Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York before running
for the D.C. Council, said she was already in touch with “friends on the
Hill” to rally opposition for any Trump extension request. She added,
“It's Day Three and he's already saying he's going to need more time?”
Targeting a variety of infractions
The arrests made by 1,450 federal and local officers across the city
included those for suspicion of driving under the influence and unlawful
entry, as well as a warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, according
to the White House. Seven illegal firearms were seized.
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Residents of the area yell at agents of the Department of Homeland
Security Investigations as they join Washington Metropolitan Police
Department officers to conduct traffic checks at a checkpoint along
14th Street in northwest Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
There have now been more than 100 arrests since Trump began beefing
up the federal law enforcement presence in Washington last week,
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said. “President Trump is
delivering on his campaign promise to clean up this city and restore
American Greatness to our cherished capital,” she said.
The president has full command of the National Guard and has
activated up to 800 troops to support law enforcement, though
exactly what form remains to be determined.
Neither Army nor District of Columbia National Guard officials have
been able to describe the training backgrounds of the troops who
have so far reported for duty.
While some members are military police, others likely hold jobs that
would have offered them little training in dealing with civilians or
law enforcement.
The federalization push also includes clearing out encampments for
people who are homeless, Trump has said. U.S. Park Police have
removed dozens of tents since March, and plan to take out two more
this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.
People are offered the chance to go to shelters and get addiction
treatment, if needed, but those who refuse could be fined or jailed,
she said.
City officials said they are making more shelter space available and
increasing their outreach.
Violent crime has dropped in the district
The federal effort comes even after a drop in violent crime in the
nation's capital, a trend that experts have seen in cities across
the U.S. since an increase during the coronavirus pandemic.
On average, the level of violence Washington remains mostly higher
than averages in three dozen cities analyzed by the nonprofit
Council on Criminal Justice, said the group's president and CEO,
Adam Gelb.
Police Chief Pamela Smith said during an interview with the local
Fox affiliate that the city's Metro Police Department has been down
nearly 800 officers. She said the increased number of federal agents
on the streets would help fill that gap, at least for now.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said city officials did not get any specific
goals for the surge during a meeting with Trump's attorney general,
Pam Bondi, and other top federal law enforcement officials Tuesday.
But, she said, "I think they regard it as a success to have more
presence and take more guns off the street, and we do too.”
She had previously called Trump's moves “unsettling and
unprecedented” while pointing out he was within a president's legal
rights regarding the district, which is the seat of American
government but is not a state.
For some residents, the increased presence of law enforcement and
National Guard troops is nerve-wracking.
“I’ve seen them right here at the subway ... they had my street
where I live at blocked off yesterday, actually,” Washington native
Sheina Taylor said. “It’s more fearful now because even though
you’re a law-abiding citizen, here in D.C., you don’t know,
especially because I’m African American."
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Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Konstantin Toropin
and Will Weissert, photographer Jacquelyn Martin and video
journalist River Zhang contributed to this report.
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