White House says federal law enforcement will move into DC at midnight
DC to see surge in federal law enforcement starting at midnight
The White House announced Thursday night that starting at 12 a.m., there will be an increased presence of federal law enforcement in D.C.
WASHINGTON - The White House announced Thursday night that starting at 12 a.m., there will be an increased presence of federal law enforcement in D.C.
It comes days after a 19-year-old former DOGE official was violently beaten during what police say was an attempted unarmed carjacking in Northwest.
What they're saying:
"Washington, DC is an amazing city, but it has been plagued by violent crime for far too long. President Trump has directed an increased presence of federal law enforcement to protect innocent citizens. Starting tonight, there will be no safe harbor for violent criminals in D.C. President Trump is committed to making our Nation’s capital safer for its residents, lawmakers, and visitors from all around the world," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The administration says utilizing federal resources will increase enforcement and reduce violent crime.
It also furthers a pledge the president has made about the District many times before.
"We’re going to have to federalize it, run it the way it’s supposed to be run," Trump said on Tuesday.
Dig deeper:
On Thursday afternoon, a White House official had told FOX 5 details of the operation have not been finalized, but by 9:30 p.m., those details were sent out to media.
The White House says this will be a seven-day operation involving multiple agencies, including the FBI, ATF, DEA and Homeland Security. They also say there will be Enforcement and Removal Operations agents — a division of ICE.
'Make DC Safe Again':
Trump has repeatedly pledged to "take over" D.C. to make it "safe and beautiful."
He signed an executive order back in March aimed at beautifying the city. Several homeless encampments were also cleared out that month.
But according to police, crime is down significantly in 2025 with statistics showing year-over-year reductions in homicides, sex abuse cases, assaults with a dangerous weapon, and robberies amounting to a 26 percent drop in violent crime overall.
What they're saying:
FOX 5 spoke to D.C. residents in Northwest on Thursday. They were overwhelmingly against the president’s plan.
"He should spend the money on better things," Elizabeth Abraha said.
"I think that is probably unnecessary," Patience Thompson said.
"Man, chill out Donald, man. Chill for a second, man," said Darius Washington.
But some say it could be a good thing.
"I mean it depends on how they carry themselves; that’s my honest opinion," another D.C. resident, Danny, told FOX 5.
We did reach out to a lot of different agencies today—MPD, the Mayor’s office, the FBI and the National Guard. None immediately provided additional information about what to expect.