Trump Brings Order to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. officials and volunteers have begun dismantling a large homeless encampment as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime and his effort to normalise and revitalise the U.S. capital. While Democrats argue that such heightened measures are unnecessary — claiming that crime in Washington has decreased — a police union leader explains how statistics are being manipulated.

Homeless encampment in Washington D.C. (Source: Truth Social)

City crews and helpers were spotted clearing out a camp near the Lincoln Memorial and Kennedy Center after denizens were warned Wednesday to move on – writes the international V4NA news agency. 

The city is clearing a homeless encampment near the Kennedy Center amid the White House cracking down on homelessness. The nearly dozen unhoused individuals were notified yesterday to move out, aka “immediate disposition” from the city. @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/aG0yn2HHvJ

— Matthew Torres (@News_MTorres) August 14, 2025

On Sunday, Trump vowed to push the homeless off the streets of Washington DC, saying on Truth Social: “We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital” – the New York Post recalls.

We’re going to take all the graffiti off. We’re going to have to remove the tents and the people that are living in our parks,

– the president said during a visit to the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. “We’re going to be redoing the parks, the grasses and all. We’re going to be going to Congress for a relatively small amount of money,” he added. “The Republicans are going to be approving it.”

– “We already have extensive outreach to our unhoused residents,” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser told FOX 5 on Thursday. “Some of them already on federal property, some of them at other sites throughout the city. “We have shelter capacity, and we want them to come in. That’s always our message. It’s especially our message right now. We want you to come into shelter and our outreach workers can tell you how to do it” – he added.

Since the Trump administration ordered federal law enforcement to hit the DC streets on August 7th to tackle crime and filth,

authorities have arrested more than 150 people on charges including homicide and drug and weapons violations. Authorities have also seized 27 firearms so far, and another 60 arrestees are suspected of being in the US illegally.

– “President Trump’s bold leadership is quickly making our nation’s capital safer,” White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers told reporters. “President Trump is delivering on his campaign promise to clean up this city and restore American Greatness to our cherished capital.”

On Monday, Trump invoked his DC Home Rule Act powers to place the Metropolitan Police Department and placed Attorney General Pam Bondi in charge of coordinating with local cops. Under the law, Trump has the MPD at his disposal until Sept. 10, after which point Congress will need to approve continued federal control of the department.

The president has also activated the DC National Guard to protect federal assets.

The aggressive measures to curtail crime in the nation’s capital come in response to a series of high-profile crimes, including an assault on former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee Edward Coristine — aka “Big Balls” — as he attempted to prevent a carjacking.

The feds and DC cops are targeting known and wanted gang members and drug dealers and planning to send special teams to crime hotspots in the District,

– an officer stated, while DC Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith has acknowledged that the added reinforcements have helped with combating crime.

Democrats manipulated statistics to downplay the scale of crime

After Donald Trump decided to place the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal oversight, Democrats criticised the move, arguing it was unnecessary since crime in the city had decreased.

However, a police union claims that crime statistics are being manipulated to minimise the level of violent offences taking place in the capital.

Prominent Democrats, including Senator Patty Murray and Hillary Clinton, have in recent days cited similar statistics, insisting that violent crime in Washington is at a “30-year low”. The city’s police union, however, maintains that the figures are misleading and that crime data is deliberately altered to conceal the true extent of violence on the city’s streets.

When our members attend a crime scene where the victim reports that an offence has occurred, it is inevitable that a lieutenant or a captain will appear and instruct them to record the incident as a lesser offence,

– explained Gregg Pemberton, president of the Fraternal Order of Police union, to NBC 4 Washington reporters.

Mr. Pemberton said officers are regularly instructed to downgrade serious crimes such as shootings, stabbings and car thefts into lesser offences or infractions — such as theft or a “person injured” report — in order to keep the official number of major crimes down.

The officer described as “absurd” the crime statistics being used to claim that crime has fallen in Washington. He added: “It is impossible that crime has fallen by 28 percent. Last year they said it had dropped by 34 percent.”

Cover photo: Homeless encampments in Washington D. C. (Source: Truth Social)