National Guard troops at the Washington Monument. Photo from @NickAtNews
On August 11th, Donald Trump reused his Los Angeles strategy and deployed federal law enforcement and the military to Washington, D.C. Exploiting the capital’s unique legal status, Trump went further than before and has subordinated the D.C. police to federal control. Since then, soldiers and federal agents have been patrolling the National Mall and surrounding monuments with a mandate to “fight crime” and carry out Trump’s stated mission to “beautify” the city.
The White House claims this extraordinary step was prompted by the assault of a former DOGE staffer (Edward Coristine, profiled earlier this year) who was reportedly injured while intervening in a carjacking in Dupont Circle. Yet Washington has already been experiencing a decline in violent crime prior to Trump’s deployment. Many Americans are asking why Trump was so quick to deploy the military and flood the city with federal agents over a single incident …
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