A crowd of protesters marched from Washington, D.C.’s, Dupont Circle to the front of the White House on Saturday, as part of a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s orders to federalize the D.C. police force.
Demonstrators took to the streets for the “Fight the Trump Takeover,” chanting “Free D.C.” and carrying signs that read “Trump Must Go Now,” “No Troops in D.C.,” and other messages expressing disagreement with the administration’s actions in the District this week.
The large crowd gathered for what organizers called a local and national day of resistance. Some of the protesters told News4 they strongly disagree with the president’s comments calling crime in the District “out of control.”
Trump has repeated his claims about crime in the District many times since a former DOGE staffer was attacked near U Street on Aug. 3.
His picture of D.C. as one of the most dangerous cities in the world was the basis for his unprecedented announcement on Monday, declaring a state of emergency due to crime and declaring that his administration would take over the city’s police department for at least a month.
In the past week, the Trump administration has ordered a list of federal agencies to patrol the streets in D.C. and assist in making arrests, deployed hundreds of National Guard troops into the District and attempted to replace D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith with DEA administrator Terry Cole, circumventing the chain of command laid out in the 1973 Home Rule Act.
After the D.C. attorney general filed a lawsuit and a federal court hearing on Friday afternoon ended with the judge ruling in D.C.’s favor, the administration reversed course and agreed to leave D.C.’s police chief in control of the department.
Protesters on Saturday told News4 they oppose the increase in federal agents across the city.
“I know a lot of people are scared,” one protester said. “We’ve got the FBI patrolling the streets. We’ve got National Guard set up as a show of force. What’s scarier is if we allow this.”
Organizers for Saturday’s protest say they plant to continue demonstrations through the next couple of months leading up to another day of resistance on Nov. 5
Trump’s D.C. police takeover sparks debate over home rule, crime, and the city’s future in this ‘4 More Context.’
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
