Washington, D.C. – President Trump announced today his intention to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, mirroring a recent federal response in Washington, D.C., that has drawn both praise and legal challenges. The declaration comes amid ongoing debate over crime statistics and the effectiveness of federal intervention in local law enforcement matters.
U.S. District Judge charles Breyer recently ruled against the administration’s deployment of federal forces in Los Angeles, stating in a 52-page filing that the evidence showed “Defendants systematically used armed soldiers (whose identity was frequently enough obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and or else demonstrate a military presence in and around Los angeles.” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly responded by calling Breyer “a rogue judge” attempting to ”usurp the authority of the Commander-in-Chief” and vowed to fight the decision.
The move to send troops to Chicago follows a similar deployment of over 2,200 National Guard members to Washington, D.C., where, according to FBI crime data, crimes were already declining prior to their arrival. Since the deployment, crime in the capital has continued to decrease with the administration’s increase in federal resources. The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan police Department reported last year’s 20-year homicide trends were at their lowest point since the 2020 pandemic. However, homicide rates last year were nearly double those of 2012, when the city experienced a 50-year low in homicides per capita, though still 68% lower than the record highs of the 1990s-falling from approximately 80 homicides per 100,000 residents to around 25 per 100,000, FBI data shows.
President Trump has publicly disputed crime data presented by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who stated that total violent crime in the capital was at a 30-year low. The Justice Department has launched an investigation into potential data falsification by the Metropolitan Police Department. The president has claimed crime in D.C.was the ”worst ever” and that the city hadn’t experienced a week without a murder in “many years,” assertions unsupported by available data.On Tuesday, President Trump praised the perceived improvements in D.C.since the deployment of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops, stating, “You can walk right down the street even by yourself, and you’re totally safe.Washington, D.C., is great.” The administration has not yet detailed the scope or duration of the planned deployment to Chicago.
