White House: Half of D.C. crackdown arrests are in high-crime areas
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Law enforcement officers near a stopped vehicle on U Street in D.C. on Saturday. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Nearly half of non-immigration-related arrests during President Trump's D.C. takeover have taken place in two of the most crime-ridden areas, according to an analysis the White House shared with Axios.
Why it matters: The figures refute critics who claimed the takeover was all for show or was not targeting high-crime areas, per a White House official who crunched the numbers this weekend.
The big picture: Trump's D.C. takeover is unprecedented, as is the use of White House staff to analyze metropolitan crime data.
- Images of National Guard troops patrolling touristy areas, protesters chanting at police and masked agents arresting people on the streets have dominated headlines and chatter on social media for days.
By the numbers: 212 people have been arrested for various crimes during the federal takeover since Aug. 8, according to White House data that excludes all immigration-related arrests.
- 101 of those arrests, or 48%, took place in Wards 7 and 8, home to many low-income and working-class majority-Black neighborhoods of Washington. They have long experienced the most violent crime in the city.
- There were 24 gun-related charges in Ward 8, and 11 in Ward 7.
- Altogether, there were 31 narcotics-related charges, seven DUIs, and two assaults.
- Meanwhile, immigration-related arrests since Aug. 8 total 164. Many of those arrests also included additional criminal charges, such as assault or drug distribution.
What they're saying: Throughout the city, National Guard troops are stationed in "high traffic areas to provide a visible law enforcement presence to deter crime," the White House official said.
- The White House declined to release information about where officers and troops were specifically stationed, or crime data for other individual wards.
- The official pulled the crime data in response to critics and the Washington Post's reporting that tracked federal law enforcement whereabouts, using verified social media posts and reporters' observations. The outlet reported more law enforcement presence downtown in areas with lower crime rates than in Wards 7 and 8.
The D.C. mayor's office, which has criticized the takeover, declined Axios' request to comment.
- The Metropolitan Police Department did not return an email seeking verification of the arrest data.
Reality check: D.C.'s crime rates are declining from a COVID-era surge, in line with much of the country.
- But Trump, calling crime "out of control" in the district, took over D.C. police for 30 days in the city after a DOGE staffer was beaten and bloodied in an attempted carjacking involving a group of young people.
- Critics call it an authoritarian over-reaction.
Trump swiped Monday at pundits and critics of his D.C. takeover by exaggerating the crime problem in the city, which he called "the most unsafe place anywhere."
- He said, "friends are calling" to thank him for making the city so safe that they can finally eat out after four years.
- "The press says, 'he's a dictator. He's trying to take over.' No," Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, "All I want is security for our people ... and the restaurants the last two days were busier than they've been in a long time."
- According to OpenTable data, however, Washington restaurants have seen a plummet in diners amid the takeover.
