Headline Roundup • August 11th, 2025
Trump to Deploy National Guard to 'Stop Violent Crime' in DC
Defense And Security,Washington DC,Crime,Violence In America,Trump Administration,Donald Trump,FBI,National Guard
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Updated 8/11/25 1:28pm ET
President Donald Trump announced plans on Monday to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. in an effort to "stop violent crime." Additionally, The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) reported that the Trump administration plans to temporarily assign over 100 FBI agents to the Capitol for nighttime patrol.
The Details: The move comes after Trump’s announcement on Sunday that he would be ramping up efforts to mitigate D.C. crime. The efforts are in response to what the president claims are above average crime rates in the Capitol, despite overall crime there reportedly being down 35% in 2024.
Key Quote: Trump said Monday, "Something's out of control, but we're going to put it in control very quickly – like we did in the southern border. I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse. This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we're going to take our capital back."
For Context: Trump directed homeless people in D.C. to move out “immediately” on Sunday, and his administration said it would consider deploying the National Guard to the Capitol or taking full federal control last week. About 900 FBI agents have recently been reassigned to assist with immigration enforcement and reform. Trump’s “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” executive order from March states, “As the capital city of the greatest Nation in the history of the world, [D.C.] should showcase beautiful, clean, and safe public spaces.”
How The Media Covered It: News media across the political spectrum credited The Washington Post with the initial FBI report but were otherwise vague about sources prior to Trump's announcement. The New York Times (Lean Left bias) was critical of FBI reassignments, stating, “It can be challenging for FBI agents to make meaningful contributions to such assignments, given that the bureau’s agents are investigators not trained in patrol-focused policing.” The Hill (Center) said Trump is “threatening to federalize the District of Columbia” but also quoted positive remarks from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Both The Hill and New York Post (Lean Right) detailed more context around the Trump administration’s reasoning for the move than the Times. New York Post also highlighted Trump’s assertion that he would give homeless people places to stay outside the Capitol.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
The US military is preparing to activate hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, DC, as a part of President Trump’s sweeping federal crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital, according to authorities.
Trump has yet to make a final decision about the activation of federal troops, but the National Guard is readying to deploy them, two US officials with knowledge of the operation confirmed to Reuters.
The preparation comes as 120 FBI agents from across the country have already begun patrolling DC streets overnight and backing up area cops at carjacking...
The Trump administration will send the FBI on night patrols in the nation’s capital in the wake of President Trump threatening to federalize the District of Columbia, according to multiple reports.
The Washington Post has reported that close to 120 FBI agents are beginning to be deployed for nightlong shifts to assist D.C. law enforcement in halting Washington-based carjackings and violent crime, two sources with knowledge of the situation told the outlet.
A spokesperson for the FBI told The New York Times that there was involvement “in the increased federal law enforcement presence in Washington” by its agents and pointed...
Andrew Leyden/Getty Images
The Trump administration plans to temporarily reassign 120 F.B.I. agents in Washington to nighttime patrol duties as part of President Trump’s crackdown on the city’s street crime, according to people familiar with the matter.
Most of the agents will be pulled from their regular duties at the F.B.I.’s Washington field office, but it was not immediately clear if agency leaders would need to pull additional personnel from nearby cities, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe details of an effort that were not meant to be public.
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