WASHINGTON — President Trump on Saturday touted his administration’s moves to address violence and crime in the nation’s capital, claiming it would soon be “one of the safest” cities in the United States.
The White House is expected to hold a news conference Monday to unveil further plans to “stop violent crime” in Washington, DC, after federal agents began rounding up drug-pushers, illegal handguns and culprits as part of a multi-agency crackdown.
“It has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World. It will soon be one of the safest!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social. “Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT”
DC had the fourth-highest homicide rate among US cities in 2024, according to statistics compiled by the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at Rochester Institute of Technology, with 27.3 murders per 100,000 people.
That’s six times higher than New York City’s rate that year, which reached 4.7 homicides per 100,000 residents — and four times higher than the 7.2 homicides per 100,000 people at the same per capita rate in Los Angeles.
It’s also more than double Newark’s rate of 12.2 murders per 100,000 people in 2024.
On Friday, a White House spokesman pointed to statistics showing how DC’s homicide rate also outranks foreign cities per 100,000 people — including Mexico City’s rate of 14; Port of Spain’s rate of 11.5; Bogota, Colombia’s rate of 10.4 and Islamabad, Pakistan’s rate of 9.2
US Park Police arrested eight perps in the District of Columbia on Thursday night and early Friday morning as part of a joint agency enforcement operation with the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Fraternal Order of Police chairman Kenneth Spencer told The Post.
Two stolen handguns were also seized, along with 30 “fraudulent oxycodone pills” — which appeared to be fentanyl — 210 grams of crack cocaine, 600 grams of marijuana, 64 grams of hashish oil and $3,600 in cash, Spencer said.
The operation came after 10 juvenile suspects allegedly beat Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward Coristine — also known as “Big Balls” — in an attempted carjacking last weekend, adding urgency to the crime issue for residents and the Trump administration.
Former DOGE leader Elon Musk later tweeted a picture of Coristine left bloodied and bruised from the attack.
DC police have arrested 333 carjacking suspects since 2023, with 56% of those taken into custody being under the age of 18.
“Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some only 14, 15, and 16-years-old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent Citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released,” Trump posted on his Truth Social on Tuesday.
The surge followed an executive order from him authorizing the multi-agency operation and pushing DC’s Metropolitan Police Department to recruit and retain more cops and head into high-crime areas in the city.
Republicans have criticized the actions of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and the district’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb in responding to youth crime.
In one case that made national news, two girls — ages 13 and 15 — killed a 66-year-old Uber driver in March 2021 after hitting him with a stun gun and stealing his car.
“It’s going to have a huge impact on crime in the city,” Spencer said of the joint federal and local focus on crime in DC. “We’ve been directed to do this until further instruction.”
