Trump’s Takeover of D.C. Echoes Return to Law-and-Order Tyranny

Date: 12 August 2025 - 21:46

News ID: ۱۴۲۴۹۹

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) --
President Donald Trump has taken control of Washington, D.C.’s law enforcement and ordered National Guard troops to deploy in the city, citing an urgent public safety crisis.
He described the move as a “historic action” to rescue the capital from “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor,” echoing rhetoric often used by conservative politicians who have portrayed majority non-white cities as lawless and in need of federal intervention.
Many residents and local officials view this federal takeover as a troubling infringement on local authority. The move recalls past instances where politicians used racially charged language to justify aggressive policing in Black and Brown communities.
April Goggans, a longtime D.C. resident and activist, expressed concern over the potential impact on civil liberties, warning that increased law enforcement presence could lead to abuses affecting anyone in the community.
White House officials claim the National Guard will protect federal properties and help maintain order, hoping the visible law enforcement presence will deter violent crime.
However, local advocates are worried about what “providing a safe environment” means in practice, fearing unchecked police power and rights violations.
The American Civil Liberties Union’s D.C. director, Monica Hopkins, cautioned that this federal control could lead to abuses similar to those seen during the 2020 racial justice protests when military helicopters flew over peaceful demonstrators.
Trump’s rhetoric fits a long history of conservative “law and order” politics, dating back to the 1960s. Politicians like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan used similar language to appeal to white voters by portraying cities with growing nonwhite populations as dangerous.
Trump’s comments about cities like Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland, Los Angeles, and New York — all led by Black mayors — follow this pattern, blaming Democratic leadership for crime and promising federal intervention.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called Trump’s takeover “unsettling” and questioned the legitimacy of the declared emergency, emphasizing that residents know the city’s democratic access is fragile.
Civil rights leaders like Maya Wiley and Derrick Johnson criticized the move as a politically motivated distraction. Johnson labeled Trump’s actions a “federal coup,” asserting D.C.’s right to self-governance and condemning the unnecessary deployment of the National Guard amid no real emergency.
Meanwhile, mayors from other cities targeted in Trump’s rhetoric, such as Baltimore and Oakland, dismissed his claims as fearmongering, highlighting their cities’ declining crime rates and urging cooperation with local leaders instead of antagonism.