President Donald Trump has authorized the deployment of 120 FBI agents to the streets of DC to help local law enforcement fight crime.
The move to utilize the FBI for street crime comes amid Trump’s promise to make DC “one of the safest cities in America.”
This unprecedented step comes amid escalating concerns over public safety in the city, where residents and visitors alike have faced heightened threats under previous administrations’ lax policies.
The agents, primarily from the Washington Field Office, will be reassigned from counterintelligence and public corruption divisions to overnight patrol shifts with DC police officers, according to a report from The Washington Post.
This deployment is part of a broader federal initiative, with reports indicating that nearly 450 federal officers from agencies including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marshals Service, and the Park Police have been mobilized across the district.
The surge follows an assault on a former White House staffer and aligns with President Trump’s establishment of the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force” in March, aimed at enforcing quality-of-life laws, clearing homeless encampments on federal land, bolstering police recruitment, and restoring public spaces and monuments.
On Sunday, President Trump announced that the homeless people need to move out of DC, but criminals can stay because “we’re going to put you in jail.”
Trump said that people who are homeless will be provided with places to stay, but “FAR from the Capital.”
The president wrote, “We’re having a News Conference tomorrow in the White House. I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before. The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”
“The Criminals, you don’t have to move out,” Trump continued. “We’re going to put you in jail where you belong. It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border. We went from millions pouring in, to ZERO in the last few months. This will be easier — Be prepared! There will be no ‘MR. NICE GUY.’ We want our Capital BACK. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
On Saturday, the president announced that a press conference would be held on Monday regarding the issue.
Trump has previously discussed a federal takeover of the city, which has long been plagued by violent crime, though it would require congressional approval.
