Following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the White House. They threw rocks and pushed over police barricades before the Secret Service hurried President Donald Trump to a bunker. Protesters clashed with police in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, and set fire to the basement of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Trump emerged from the bunker to deliver a “law and order” speech in the White House Rose Garden. Meanwhile, law enforcement had removed the demonstrators from Lafayette Park. Finally, Trump and his entourage marched from the White House across Lafayette Park to St. John’s Church.
Trump stepped in front of the church, awkwardly fumbled with a Bible, and hoisted it as if swearing to keep his promise from the Rose Garden when he told the nation, “I have recommended that every governor deploy the National Guard. If they refuse to take action, I will deploy the US military to quickly solve the problem for them.”
Trump’s critics claimed that the president unjustly tear-gassed peaceful protesters and unlawfully removed them from Lafayette Park for a photo opportunity. Other Trump detractors accused the president of holding the Bible upside down, and since then, any questionable showcase of executive power made by Trump has been referred to as another page from Trump’s upside-down Bible.
Here are the recent developments.
On August 11, President Trump declared that he was going to rescue Washington, DC, from crime. According to Washington, DC’s Home Rule Charter, the president has the authority to temporarily federalize the city’s police department if he believes it is necessary to resolve a crisis.
The White House declared a public safety emergency and mobilized the National Guard.
Trump stated, “The number of car thefts has doubled over the last five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled.” Additionally, the murder rate in 2023 reached its highest level ever recorded. The Mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, and her Democratic allies have claimed that the President is mistaken and that his federal takeover is unnecessary because violent crime in DC has declined by 35 percent between 2023 and 2024, the lowest level in over 30 years.
Who is wrong? The president overstated his claims, but neither he nor the mayor is incorrect. The president made his case by highlighting specific increases in crime from 2020 to 2024, while the mayor focused on the decreases in crime that occurred from 2023 to 2024.
But there is a better comparison.
Here are the crime statistics for DC after Trump’s first year as president during his first term, alongside the year in which the mayor stated crime had decreased.
(These statistics are sourced from Crime Data DC.)
2017: Homicide: 116 Motor vehicle theft: 2,406 Theft from auto: 10,275 Theft/other: 14,496 Assault with a deadly weapon: 1,848 Robbery: 2,177 Burglary: 1,532
2024: Homicide: 187 Motor vehicle theft: 5,126 Theft from auto: 6,648 Theft/other: 12,968 Assault with a deadly weapon: 1,027 Robbery: 2,104 Burglary: 1,000
When comparing Trump’s first year in office to the year in which Mayor Bowser saw a decrease in total crime, Mayor Bowser’s figures are lower in all categories except homicide and motor vehicle theft. Since Trump did not federalize DC when total crime numbers were higher in 2017 than in 2024, it suggests that crime was not the driving force behind the takeover.
Two other factors disturbed Trump, prompting him to consult his upside-down bible.
On August 11, Trump declared, “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs, bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs, and homeless people.”
Homeless people did not belong on that list, but Trump criminalized them since the homeless crisis in DC concerned him more than the total crime rate. He earlier remarked that the homeless population is worse now than it was during his first term, which he considered embarrassing. Removing homeless encampments is part of Trump’s “beautification” plan, which he claims would make the capital the most beautiful city in the world.
The executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, Amber W. Harding, told the Associated Press that she believes “federal law enforcement will begin systematically rounding up and arresting unhoused people.” She speculates that authorities would ask them to leave or “offer shelter,” arresting anybody who disobeyed either directive. “We do not have enough shelter beds for everyone on the street.” Harding complained, “This is chaotic.”
The other disturbing factor was that after President Trump lost reelection in 2020, DC’s council promptly approved a permanent version of the Sanctuary Values Act, which strengthened the nation’s capital’s status as a sanctuary city.
On Aug. 11, Trump said, “They turned our nation’s capital into a sanctuary jurisdiction. That’s the other thing—we have to get rid of sanctuary cities as quickly as possible. We have to, because it’s a sanctuary for criminals.”
Following the initial ten days of the federal takeover, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest of 630 individuals. According to ABC7, just under half of those arrested were undocumented immigrants. During the same time, protesters gathered outside police vehicle checks, chanting “Get off our streets” and “Go home, fascists.” Once the protesters have recovered from their initial shock at the federal takeover, they will focus all of their efforts on the one action that will prevent future federal takeovers, which is making DC the 51st state.
Republicans have vehemently opposed DC statehood. If DC were the 51st state, it would be a blue state, giving the Democrats more senators and House representatives, which would be unfavorable for the Republicans.
Trump’s unprecedented takeover of DC has given the Democrats the strongest argument for DC’s statehood, which is to safeguard it from future presidents who have memorized passages from Trump’s upside-down Bible.
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