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President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department came as a result of politicians in Washington, D.C., failing to take control of an increase in youth violence, a law enforcement group said.
President Trump made the decision Monday to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, allowing the president to take emergency control of police in Washington, D.C., for 30 days.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,” Trump said Monday while announcing the move. “And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it.”
In explaining why he was federalizing D.C. police, Trump pointed to a rise in criminal activity that included a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer being beaten and the murder of a congressional intern.
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The Metropolitan Police Department announced that a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl face carjacking charges after Edward Coristine was beaten Aug. 3 at around 3 a.m. Authorities said the teens tried to carjack Coristine and a woman identified as his significant other.
Police said Coristine got the woman inside the vehicle while he confronted the group of people, which led to the attack.
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who was in D.C. for an internship, was shot June 30 around 10:28 p.m. and died at a hospital July 1, police said. At the time, Tarpinian-Jachym was an intern for Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan.
Several people were seen exiting a car before opening fire, with one of the shots wounding Tarpinian-Jachym. Police said Tarpinian-Jachym wasn’t the intended target, adding an adult female and 16-year-old male were injured. The shooting happened in the 1200 block of 7th Street, Northwest, near the Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center Metro stop.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, a National Police Association spokesperson, told Fox News Digital politicians in Washington, D.C., paved the way for Trump to take over the Metropolitan Police Department due to their failure to address a recent rise in youth violence.
According to NBC Washington, the number of juveniles arrested in Washington, D.C., has increased every year since 2020, with over 2,000 arrested in 2023 and 2024.
In 2024, juveniles made up 51.8% of robbery arrests, according to police, adding that almost 60% of carjacking suspects in 2025 are also juveniles. In Washington, D.C., most violent crimes committed by adults are prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, while most juvenile crimes are prosecuted by the District of Columbia’s attorney teneral.
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“It is a huge issue,” Smith said of juvenile crime in Washington, D.C. “It’s frustrating for the crime victims to know that if they’re the victim of a juvenile offender, even if the crime is violent, that the offender will likely not be prosecuted commiserate with the law. It is also frustrating for the police officer who makes the arrest and/or investigates the crime to then sees the offender not receive appropriate punishment.”
Smith said D.C. should be encouraged to “lower the age of responsibility,” which would allow “for more effective prosecution of juveniles.”
“There needs to be a substantive change in the way that our criminal justice system deals with juvenile offenders. We need to do a better job of addressing true criminality, and we need to separate it out from a kid who runs away from home or a kid who steals a soda and a bag of chips from the local gas station,” she said.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser met Tuesday with federal officials to discuss how the city will coordinate an increased law enforcement presence in the city.
“What I’m focused on is the federal surge and how to make the most of the additional officer support that we have,” Bowser said, according to Fox 5. “We have the best in the business in MPD Chief Pamela Smith to lead that effort and to make sure that the men and women who are coming from federal law enforcement are being well-used and that if there’s National Guard here they’re being well-used.”
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