Donald Trump deploys National Guard to Washington DC to tackle 'bloodthirsty criminals'

President Donald Trump has announced plans to call in the National Guard to tackle crime and homelessness in Washington, D.C. The US President said Washington's police will also now be placed under federal control and indicated there could be similar crackdowns elsewhere.

"We will bring in the military if needed," Trump said as he spoke of a "public safety emergency" alongside top officials in his administration at a White House press conference today. Trump announced officers from the District of Columbia National Guard will be sent into the US capital to assist law enforcement. "This is 'Liberation Day' in D.C.," Trump said, adding: "We're going to take our capital back."

Trump revealedthe new measures after claiming the US capital had "become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world" in a post on Truth Social. Standing in the White House briefing room, Trump cited a number of recent high-profile incidents, including the killing of a 21-year-old Congressional intern and the beating of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer during an attempted carjacking. It comes after Trump was seen with a mystery mark in Scotland after his chronic health diagnosis.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi is taking over the city's police. Trump said he would start with D.C., but the wider crackdown on crime would go further to other Americans. “We’re going to clean it up real quick, very quickly,” he said.

He added that he felt it was "embarrassing" to stand and talk about what he called a "public safety emergency" ahead of his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Trump also compared crime data between Washington and cities and said "we doubled up on Baghdad". It is not immediately clear what data Trump was referencing as he spoke about the Iraqi capital and held up a sheet of paper, but police statistics show homicides, robberies and burglaries are down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall, violent crime is down 26 per cent compared with this time a year ago.

Washington had been "taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals" with "drugged out maniacs and homeless people", Trump said. He also referred to Washington "slums", saying "we're getting rid of them".

Trump said last week that he was considering ways for the federal government to seize control of Washington D.C, asserting that crime was “ridiculous” and the city was “unsafe” after the recent assault of a high-profile member of DOGE.

About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being deployed throughout the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration’s effort to combat crime, a source told AP earlier. They claimed more than 100 FBI agents and about 40 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are among federal law enforcement personnel being assigned to patrols in Washington.

For Trump, the effort to take over public safety in Washington reflects a next step in his law enforcement agenda after his aggressive push to stop illegal border crossings. But the move also comes as he has sought to consolidate power in ways that raise fundamental questions about how the federal government will interact with its state and local counterparts

Trump teased bringing in the National Guard in recent days. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, questioned the effectiveness of using the Guard to enforce city laws and said the federal government could be far more helpful by funding more prosecutors or filling the 15 vacancies on the D.C Superior Court, some of which have been open for years. Bowser cannot activate the National Guard herself, but she can submit a request to the Pentagon.

“I just think that’s not the most efficient use of our Guard,” she said Sunday on MSNBC, acknowledging it is "the president’s call about how to deploy the Guard.”

Last week, Trump directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option “to extend as needed.”

Bowser was making her first public comments since Trump started posting about crime in Washington last week. She noted that violent crime in Washington has decreased since a rise in 2023.

Trump's weekend posts depicted the district as "one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World". For Bowser, “any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false.”

A protest formed outside the White House as Trump's announcement broke, with some holding signs that read "hands off DC".

Trump, in a Sunday social media post, had emphasised the need for the removal of Washington's homeless population, though it was unclear where the thousands of people would go.

“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote. “We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.”