President takes control of Washington DC police and orders in national guard

Donald Trump yesterday ordered the national guard to Washington DC and seized control of the city's police force, describing it as a "lawless" city in ways that were sharply at odds with official crime statistics.

- David Smith George Chidi

The US president's move was swiftly condemned as a "disgusting, dangerous and derogatory" assault on the political independence of a racially diverse city.

Speaking at a White House press conference, Trump said he was taking "a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse. This is liberation day in DC and we're going to take our capital back."

He described Washington DC as "one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world", claiming its murder rate is higher than Bogota or Mexico City, even though violent crime is at a 30-year low.

The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who was among officials joining Trump on the podium, said 800 national guard troops would take to the streets of Washington over the coming week. "They will be strong, they will be tough and they will stand with their law enforcement partners," he said.

Trump, who lost the presidential election in DC to the Democrat Kamala Harris by 86 percentage points, added that he may send in the military "if needed".

By invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, the president is federalizing DC's Metropolitan police department for the first time in its history. He said he was declaring a public safety emergency and putting the police under the control of the US attorney general, Pam Bondi.

Trump vowed to allow police to "do whatever the hell they want" in the face of provocations. "That's the only language they [alleged criminals] understand. They like to spit in the face of the police. You spit, and we hit, and they get hit real hard."