The president spoke of a city overrun by violent youth while announcing a takeover of the capital’s police.
President Donald Trump announced Monday morning that he is placing the police force of Washington, D.C., under federal control.
During a press conference at the White House, the president formally invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows him to take control of the police in the nation’s capital. Trump added that he will be deploying 800 National Guard troops to combat what he called “out of control” crime in the city.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse. This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re gonna take our capital back. We’re taking it back,” he said. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals—roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs, and homeless people.
