Trump plans nighttime ride-along with DC police, National Guard

WASHINGTON (CN) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday his plan to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., alongside police officers and members of the National Guard.

The move comes amid a federal crackdown on the capital city that has been widely panned by D.C. residents and community leaders — some of whom are planning a major protest on the same night Trump will be out on the town.

Speaking to conservative talk radio host Todd Starnes on Thursday afternoon, Trump revealed his plans to patrol D.C. “I’m going to be going out tonight with the police and with the military,” he said. “We’re going to do a job.”

The president initially suggested the planned outing was a “secret” but revealed it to Starnes anyway.

The White House confirmed on X that Trump would go out Thursday night with D.C. Metropolitan Police and the National Guard, which have been active in the nation’s capital since last week. But the administration has so far not disclosed any more details about the president’s route or how he would be getting around D.C.

Trump’s outing comes just a day after Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House senior adviser Stephen Miller traveled to D.C.’s Union Station for a photo-op with National Guard members.

The president on Aug. 11 said he would use a provision in the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act to federalize the capital’s police force, putting Attorney General Pam Bondi in charge of the department. The move came just days after the White House ordered a surge of federal law enforcement agents into D.C., part of Trump’s stated goal of fighting crime in the capital city and clearing out its homeless population.

Since the federal crackdown on D.C. began, Metro Police and federal agents have made more than 600 arrests, according to Bondi. Many of those arrests have been immigration-related, but others were for homicide, drug possession and firearm offenses.

But despite claims from Trump administration officials that the efforts of federal agents and local police have made D.C. safer, its residents largely oppose the White House’s federal takeover. According to a Washington Post poll of people living in the district, roughly 80% said they either somewhat or strongly opposed the president’s move to federalize MPD and call in the National Guard.

D.C. residents are split on their perception of crime in the capital city, with just 31% of respondents saying they viewed crime as a very serious problem.

January statistics from the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. also concluded that violent crime in the capital city decreased in 2024 and is at its lowest level in 30 years. The Trump administration has contested those statistics — the Justice Department is reportedly investigating accusations that Metro Police officials manipulated crime reports to artificially deflate violent crime rates.

And though the Justice Department has touted figures that show federal agents have seized more than 80 illegal guns since the D.C. takeover began, data from Metro Police suggest the feds’ firearms recovery is about on par with 2024 levels.

Still, the White House has said violent crime has dropped by as much as 22% in the roughly two weeks the federal government has controlled D.C.’s police force.

As Trump gears up to go on patrol with police and the military Thursday evening, protesters are already set to gather in a D.C. neighborhood that has become one of several flashpoints for law enforcement activity.

Local activists will speak at the “Defend the District” event in the U Street corridor in the city’s northwest quadrant. Among those scheduled to give remarks are D.C. Councilmember Robert White Jr. and community advocate Ty Hobson-Powell.

Ahead of Thursday’s protest, Metro Police announced the U Street neighborhood would be subject to a juvenile curfew set to last through the weekend. The ordinance restricts gatherings of people under age 17 in the U Street area between the hours of 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

D.C. police have for weeks enforced a citywide juvenile curfew, which begins at 11 p.m., and have implemented similar neighborhood curfews in other areas of the city, including the Washington Navy Yard.

Congressional Republicans, who have largely been supportive of Trump’s federal takeover of the capital city, applauded his intention to patrol D.C. Thursday night. “The Law and Order President,” proclaimed North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx in a post on X.

The House Judiciary Committee’s official X account simply responded with three exclamation mark emoji.

Under the Home Rule Act, the president can only federalize D.C. police for 30 days. Trump, however, has said he would need a “long-term” extension on that authority — and suggested that he could sidestep Congress and seize such power unilaterally.

House Democrats have unveiled a resolution aimed at blocking the president from extending his hold on D.C. Metro Police, which they hope to bring up for a vote when lawmakers return from their August recess after Labor Day. But it’s unclear whether Congress’ Republican majority would consider such legislation.

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