• Trump has deployed approximately 800 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.
• The President declares a "public safety emergency," despite declining crime statistics.
• Local Mayor Muriel Bowser rejects Trump's assertions of a crime wave, citing improvements.
• Federal control over D.C. police to last for up to 30 days under Section 740 of the Home Rule Act.

On August 11, President Donald Trump announced the deployment of around 800 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., declaring a "public safety emergency" aimed at combating what he characterized as a surge of violent crime. "This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back," Trump proclaimed during a press conference, despite city data indicating that violent crime has fallen to historic lows, according to Indiatimes, BBC, and Dawn.

The mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has publicly refuted Trump's claims, asserting that crime rates in the capital have been significantly decreasing. "We are not experiencing a crime spike," she emphasized, highlighting that the city's homicides have dropped 32 percent as of 2024, with overall crime decreasing to a 30-year low. Bowser characterized Trump's action as an "authoritarian push" and indicated that local officials have little recourse given the city's unique status as a federal district, according to Indiatimes and Al Jazeera.

The newly deployed troops are expected to assist local law enforcement alongside approximately 500 federal agents already in the capital. During the first night of the federal takeover, authorities reported 23 arrests related to serious offenses including homicide and gun crimes. Critics argue that these moves by Trump reflect a troubling trend of escalating federal control over local policing, as detailed by SFGate and Newsweek.

Trump's authority to take control of local law enforcement stems from Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act, which allows him to assume this role temporarily during emergencies. Critics, including the ACLU, have condemned this federalization as a "power grab" and called for the protection of D.C.'s local governance, asserting that such actions undermine residents' rights, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera.