Members of the National Guard have arrived in Washington DC a day after US President Donald Trump announced he was deploying 800 troops to the capital and temporarily taking over the city's police department.
The president cast his actions as necessary to "rescue" Washington from a purported wave of lawlessness.
Statistics show that violent crime shot up in 2023 but has been rapidly declining since.
It is the second time this summer that the Republican president has deployed troops to a city governed by Democrats.
A federal trial began yesterday in San Francisco on whether Mr Trump violated US law by deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June without the approval of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
"Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals," Mr Trump said yesterday.
The Republican president has dismissed criticism that he is manufacturing a crisis to justify expanding presidential authority in a heavily Democratic city.
Watch: Donald Trump announces deployment of National Guard troops to US Capital
Hundreds of officers and agents from over a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA and ATF, have fanned out across the city in recent days.
Mr Trump said he would also send in the US military "if needed".
The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Mr Trump's claims that the city is a "hellscape", saying it is "not experiencing a crime spike" and highlighting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year.
Violent crime fell 26% in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35% in 2024, and overall crime dropped 7%, according to the city's police department.
Over the past week, Mr Trump has intensified his messaging, suggesting he might attempt to strip the city of its local autonomy and implement a full federal takeover.
The District of Columbia, established in 1790, operates under the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council.
Mr Trump said last week that lawyers are examining how to overturn the law, a move that would likely require Congress to revoke it.
In taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, Mr Trump invoked a section of the act that allows the president to use the force temporarily when "special conditions of an emergency nature" exist. Mr Trump said he was declaring a "public safety emergency" in the city.
The deployment of National Guard troops is a tactic the president used in Los Angeles, where he dispatched 5,000 troops in June in response to protests over his administration's immigration raids.
State and local officials objected to Mr Trump's decision as unnecessary and inflammatory.
