Trump's DC public safety sweep results in 23 arrests including murder suspect on opening day

On the first day of President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, D.C., federal and local authorities arrested 23 people, including suspects wanted for murder, gun offenses and other crimes.

FBI Director Kash Patel, who endorsed Trump’s plans to take over the Metropolitan Police Department and tackle crime in the nation's capital, provided an update on the efforts in a post on X Tuesday evening.

"On the first big push of FBI supporting @POTUS @realDonaldTrump initiative to make DC safe again, FBI reported 10 arrests with partners," the director wrote.

He said the 10 arrests included one for a search warrant on a prior murder charge.

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The other arrests involved unlawful possession of firearms, outstanding warrants for driving under the influence, and one arrest for violating a restraining order.

"These are just a few examples — we are just getting started. Federal partners joined local police and arrested 23 in total," Patel wrote. "When you let good cops be cops they can clean up our streets and do it fast. More to come. Your nation’s Capital WILL be safe again."

On Monday, Trump said he would federalize the police department and place it under the authority of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in an effort to address crime. He also said he was activating approximately 800 National Guard troops to "reestablish law, order and public safety" in the capital. 

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FBI Director Kash Patel with FBI agents in Washington, D.C. on August 11 outside the Park Police Station, the command center for the Trump administration's new crackdown on crime in the nation's capital. (Courtesy: FBI)

Democrats and local officials criticized the Trump administration for taking over law enforcement efforts in DC, saying the move is part of a power grab.

Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called the move "unsettling and unprecedented."

The District of Columbia Home Rule Act allows Trump to place the city's police department under federal control for up to 30 days. Bowser noted that granting D.C. statehood, an issue local officials have repeatedly advocated for, could have prevented the takeover. 

"If people are concerned about the president being able to move the National Guard into our city, the time to do that would have been when the Congress had a bill that it could have given control of the D.C. National Guard to D.C.," she said. "So, there are things that, when a city is not a state, and not fully autonomous, and doesn’t have senators, that the federal government can do."

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Jeanine Pirro told reporters on Aug. 12, 2025, that the community in Washington, D.C. is suffering because of violent crime, adding that anyone who wants to tell her crime is down needs to speak with the family members of the individuals who were shot and killed under the age of 20. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Still, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon that she wanted to get a sense of what was happening in D.C. and asked for the number of teens who have been shot and killed by gunfire.

She shared a poster with several victims who were shot in 2024, all under the age of 20, noting that 29 individuals were shot and killed in the district, some as young as 3-years-old. Pirro also showed a poster of those under the age of 20 who were shot and killed in 2025, which totaled 16 victims.

"What this makes clear to me is that there is a whole community that is suffering because of the violent crime in this district, and anyone who wants to tell me that crime is down and that we don’t need an emergency focus on crimes of violence, all they need to do is take a look at this and talk to the loved ones and the family members of these individuals who were shot and killed under the age of 20," Pirro said.

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"I don't know how many of these cases have been solved, but what I can tell you is, again, it's guns on the streets. It's individuals who are not concerned about accountability, who don't have any reason to fear law enforcement," she continued. "I am here today to tell you that on behalf of all of these victims, all of these families, that they're going to be accountable, that we are going to make a difference, and that we are going to make sure that law enforcement is focused on these innocent, now silent victims of crime in the district."

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.