The military of the National Guard of the United States highlighted by Donald Trump to Washington DC began to hit the streets of the American capitalthat the president considers the scene of a wave of violent crimes.
In all, there will be eight hundreds of soldiers mobilized for the city, as well as 500 federal agents. The mayor of the city denounces the “authoritarian impulse” of the president.
Under the motto “make DC safe again”, Donald Trump announced on Monday (11) the decision to highlight hundreds of members of the National Guard in the capital during an emergency period of 30 days.
“I will make our capital safer and more beautiful. Homeless people have to leave immediately. We will give accommodation to stay, but far from the capital. The criminals do not need to move. We will put them all in jail, where they belong,” the president said. Trump justified the decision with the “crime, savage, dirt” and “the merciless deaths of innocent people” who says they exist in Washington DC.
By the end of Tuesday (12) were already observed in the city, especially in central and tourist places, armored vehicles of the National Guard. Over the next few troops should arrive.
Poster with the text RELEASE DC in the center of the American capital – Reuters/Jonathan Ernst/Prohibited Reproduction
False allegations
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser denied the crime to be out of control and condemned the president’s decision.
“We have to protect our city, protect our autonomy, protect our internal law and overcome this type [Donald Trump]to ensure that we choose a Democratic Chamber to have a barrier against this authoritarian impulse, ”Muriel told New York Times.
The local executive also stressed that the National Guard does not have the power to arrest people.
According to official data from the Washington DC Metropolitan Police, the rate of violent crimes in Washington DC is the lowest of the last 30 years.
FBI data also indicate a 9% drop in the city’s crime since last year. Still, studies suggest that the capital has a higher homicide rate than other major American cities.
Only the beginning
While in US states the National Guard acts as a militia that responds to the governor, except when called to federal service, in Washington this force responds directly from the president.
Rarely, a president resorts directly to the National Guard to combat crime. However, in June this year Donald Trump had already mobilized about 2,000 military personnel to Los Angeles to respond to protests against illegal immigrant arrests in the Californian city.
On Tuesday, the White House press secretary said that, in addition to the mobilization of the military in Washington DC, About 850 police officers were highlighted to the city at dawn, making 23 arrests for homicide, firearm infractions, drug trafficking, fiscal dropout, obscene acts and persecution.
“This is just the beginning. Over the next month, the Trump administration will pursue and relentlessly arrest all violent criminals in the district that infringe the law, impair public safety and endanger Americans,” he said.
