News24 | Washington DC residents sceptical of Trump’s ‘draconian approach’ to send in troops

Members of the National Guard arrive at the Guard’s headquarters at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.

• US President Donald Trump ordered a federal takeover of Washington DC.
• Crime has declined in the city.
• Residents are sceptical of the imposition of federal troops.

A 15-minute walk from the White House, Tony and Mike stood on the sidewalk near the spot where a man was killed on Monday, the 100th murder of the year in Washington, DC.

The shooting broke out just a few hours after US President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the US capital, which Trump described as overrun by crime - though official data shows that violence has recently decreased.

“It’s sickening,” Tony told AFP early Tuesday. “It’s not safe anymore.”

“You do need change, you do need help,” Mike said.

But Mike added that the city does not need the help Trump is sending in - “not National Guards”.

READ | Trump says to move homeless people 'far' from Washington

The day after Trump’s press conference, residents of the area near the city centre told stories of drug sales on the street, but were sceptical that federal intervention would make a difference.

Tony has always lived in the area and, like the other residents interviewed, did not want to give his last name.

He described a local street corner as an “open air market” with “all the drugs that you want”.

Anne, who was holding pruning shears as she weeded, said needles are often discovered in the flowerbed of the church on the corner.

It was near this spot that Tymark Wells, 33, was shot around 19:00 on Monday before later dying in hospital, according to a police report that did not mention a motive or suspect.

The area is the “wild wild West and it’s always been like that”, said Lauren, 42, who lives in a building nearby.

When Trump announced his DC plan, he said it was “becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness”.

However, the Department of Justice said in January that violent crime in Washington recently hit its lowest level in 30 years.

Because of easy access to guns in the US, the crime number still “may look differently in America than it does in other parts of the world”, Brianne Nadeau, a member of DC’s overwhelmingly Democratic city council, told AFP.

“But we have made substantial strides here,” she said, calling Trump’s federal takeover a “political stunt”.

The annual number of homicides in the city peaked at 274 in 2023, before falling to 187 in 2024.

That is still one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the country.

Trump also justified the takeover by citing the number of homeless people in the city.

Ace, a 16-year-old walking her dog, said the presence of the homeless contributed to the feeling of insecurity.

Sometimes unhoused people would get on top of her parents’ car, she said.

“You don’t know if they are going to break in.”

While waiting for the National Guard, around 850 federal agents were deployed to Washington on Monday, making 23 arrests, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“This is only the beginning,” she said.

National Guard troops started to appear on the US capital’s streets on Tuesday night, with their armoured vehicles rolling past the Washington Monument at sunset.

Terry Cole, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration tasked with leading the federal takeover of the city’s police, said patrolling would be ramped up.

Federal agents and police will work “hand in hand” during these patrols, Cole added.

The city’s Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has been forced to accommodate the takeover, said this approach is “the wrong way to do it”.

Federal agents are not trained to go out on patrol, she said.

On Tuesday night, Bowser used her strongest words yet to criticise the takeover, describing it as “an authoritarian push” during an online conversation with residents on social media.

Tom, who lives near the scene of Monday’s shooting, told AFP there were not enough police patrols in the area.

But he also criticised Trump’s “draconian approach”, saying it was unlikely to “yield any good results”.

Across the street, a small memorial stood in tribute to a different shooting victim.

A picture of a young black man has been wrapped around a tree, with flowers arrayed at its base.

Turell Delonte, 30, was shot dead by police at the spot in 2023, after he was suspected of drug trafficking.