“Low Metrics, High Crackdown”: Inside Trump’s Federal Takeover of D.C. Policing
“Low Metrics, High Crackdown”: Inside Trump’s Federal Takeover of D.C. Policing TL;DR At the very moment violent crime in Washington, D.C. hit multi-decade lows, President Trump invoked §740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act to seize control of MPD and deploy the D.C. National Guard—framing it as an emergency. The move leans on a patchwork of federal authorities (Home Rule §740, DHS §1315, USMS special deputations, NSSE-style perimeters) typically reserved for discrete events or federal facilities, not broad municipal policing. The facts on the ground—and the legal tools selected—fit a classic “crisis pretext” pattern. 1) The statistical backdrop: crime is down D.C. homicides & violent crime fell sharply in 2024: Violent crime dropped 35% vs. 2023; homicides fell from 274 (2023) to 187 (2024). 2025 YTD shows continued improvement: MPD’s official “Crime Cards” dashboard confirms ongoing declines in violent categories year-to-date. Fact-checkers flag the misframe: When Trump held up a chart ...