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2d ago

Trump’s Federal Control of DC Police Deepens as GOP Governors Pledge More Guard Troops

Legal challenges have surfaced over the federal mobilization of National Guard troops in Washington.

National Guard troopers stand guard on 9th Street between L and M Streets in the northwest section of Washington, D.C., April 6, 1968. The nation's capital has been rocked by rioting in the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 in Memphis. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz)
Demonstrators gather near police headquarters to protest Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, DC, on Friday.
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An exhibit of a segregated lunch counter displays videos from the civil rights movement at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, on April 4.

Overview

  • The White House invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act to federalize the Metropolitan Police and deployed about 800 D.C. National Guard members, with three Republican governors pledging over 650 additional troops from West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio.
  • Hundreds of federal agents from the FBI, DEA, ICE, ATF and U.S. Marshals Service have been stationed along the National Mall, Union Station and other high-visibility areas while homeless encampments are cleared.
  • After Mayor Bowser’s lawsuit, the administration reversed a move to replace MPD Chief Pamela Smith, preserving her day-to-day command under a revised federal oversight directive.
  • Legal experts and lawmakers are debating the scope of the Home Rule Act and Posse Comitatus restrictions, especially as the administration weighs arming Guard units and creating a rapid-reaction force.
  • Protests in Dupont Circle and a separate city lawsuit highlight local opposition to what Mayor Bowser calls an “UnAmerican” overreach, even as figures like Mike Pence commend the intervention and officials discuss using the model elsewhere.