Considering that crime in Washington, DC is higher than in "the worst places" in the world, President Donald Trump took control of the city's police force, and to order the deployment of the National Guard to the US capital.

“Today is Liberation Day in Washington DC and we are going to take back our capital,” President Trump said at a press conference at the White House. "We will take it back under the authority vested in me as president of the United States. I am officially invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, you know what that is, and placing the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control." The president appointed current DEA Director Terrance Cole as acting police commissioner. He indicated that central command remains with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondo, an action he described as necessary to “restore public order and safety in Washington, DC.” And you all know people and friends of yours who have experienced that [insecurity]. So you can be whoever you want, but you want safety on the streets. They want to be able to leave their apartment or house and feel safe, and go to a store to buy a newspaper or something, and that doesn't exist now," he said. "The homicide rate in Washington is much higher than Bogotá, Colombia, Mexico City, and some of the places that are cited as the worst in the world. It's much higher." Trump maintained his "invasion" theme, indicating that Washington, DC, has been "invaded" by gangs and drug addicts. "Our capital has been invaded by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs, unruly youth, drug addicts, maniacs, and homeless people, and we're not going to let this happen again," he said. "We're not going to accept it like we did at our southern border. Nobody comes to our southern border three months in a row; we haven't had any." The president argued in his decision that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday and that he doesn't want the insecurity in DC to be a topic of conversation in negotiations over a cease-fire in Ukraine.