Whether you’re a flaming progressive or diehard MAGA, you likely know someone who has been personally victimized by violent crime in Washington, D.C.
Too many friends and colleagues of mine have had run-ins or close encounters with violent criminals. Fox News correspondent and host, Kevin Corke, was robbed at gunpoint a few years ago, later getting his car back. Washington Examiner reporter Anna Giaritelli was attacked and sexually assaulted in 2020, later deciding to leave D.C. Some friends of mine residing in Navy Yard, a posh neighborhood close to Nationals Ballpark, are subjected to constant noise, gunfire, and carjacking. And Uber drivers I’ve spoken with shared with me how 10-year-olds with extensive rap sheets are terrorizing denizens.
The status quo is unsustainable. But trouble was brewing pre-Trump administration. The claim that DC crime is at a 30-year-low isn’t accurate. In fact, the opposite is true. In May, a D.C. police chief was suspended for changing crime statistics – essentially, under- or not reporting crime - to show that crime was decreasing. One observer noted that DC crime is eight times higher than in war-torn Fallujah. This is embarrassing and sad for an American city, especially our nation’s capital.
It’s understandable why the Trump administration authorized a “federal takeover” of Washington, D.C., starting last Monday.
“The city government’s failure to maintain public order and safety has had a dire impact on the Federal Government’s ability to operate efficiently to address the Nation’s broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence,” the executive order explained. “As President, I have a solemn duty to take care that our laws are faithfully executed, and a sacred responsibility to protect the safety and security of United States citizens who live in and visit our Nation’s capital, including Federal workers who live or commute into the District of Columbia. These conditions cannot persist. We will make the District of Columbia one of the safest cities in the world, not the most dangerous.”
How did progressives respond? In their usual unhinged way, of course.
A retired reporter based in Arlington, Virginia, said, “I live in Arlington. I’m a reporter. I travel into DC frequently. I’ve never been carjacked. I know it happens but I don’t know anyone who has been carjacked. I’ve never been the victim of any crime in DC. I have been to cities crawling with troops. Now that’s ugly.”
An MSNBC contributor downplayed D.C. crime by suggesting he’s more afraid of climate change.
Anand Giridharadas told the channel, “When I go to D.C., I’m not afraid of losing my wallet so much as I am of losing my vote. I’m not afraid of losing my wallet so much as I am afraid that my children’s freedom to breathe will be stolen in a world where climate change policy is non- existent. I’m more afraid that the future of middle class people will be stolen by the very things you were talking about, cutting the safety net, cutting Medicaid, cutting rural hospitals.”
“Crazy that DC is going to become a military police state because an incel nicknamed Big Balls got his ass kicked by a pack of unarmed preteens,” tweeted Sawyer Hackett, a self-described “wannabe chef” and Democrat consultant.
Progressives denying the prevalence of D.C. crime are engaging in argument from incredulity: the logical fallacy premised in the belief that something isn't occurring or happening because they personally haven't experienced it.
How did Washington, D.C., get to this point? Blame the D.C. City Council and its soft-on-crime policies. Members like Ward 6 Councilman Charles Allen have turned a blind eye to crime. Worse, he led efforts to pass the D.C. Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Act in 2020, in response to the George Floyd protests.
But locals in the heavily Democrat enclave believe crime still remains a problem. Just last year, a Washington Post-Schar School survey found 65% of DC residents say crime is “extremely serious” or a “very serious” problem.
Residents immediately lauded the Trump administration’s crackdown on violent crime. "The youngsters out here wildin'. They do the wildest things. They got their ski mask on. If I see you with your ski mask on, you spending the whole week in jail. You scaring old folks out here,” said DC Smokehouse manager Shawn McWhirter.
Navy Yard residents also expressed relief with the crime crackdown, with one texting journalist Matthew Foldi the following: “I am walking around Navy Yard post-Nats game and I am floored. Donald Trump literally solved crime.”
In the past week, over 200 arrests have been made in the Federal City. And the city is already on the mend.
Townhall’s very own Katie Pavlich visited Union Station on August 15th and observed, “First time at Union Station this morning since Trump’s crime crackdown and there wasn’t a single crazy person screaming, vagrant or person doing drugs. Instead, lots of families visiting D.C. Wonderful!!!”
Daily Signal’s Elise McCue also reported from Union Station that the homeless encampments have been cleared.
D.C. crime affects Americans of all political persuasions. A former Democratic Congressional intern for Rep. Jim Hines (D-CT) was fatally stabbed on the DC Metro on July 4th, 2015. Two Israeli embassy staffers were ruthlessly murdered in cold blood a few months ago. In February 2023, Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN) was attacked in her D.C. apartment complex. Last year, a former Trump administration official was killed in a carjacking in Northwest D.C. A few weeks ago, a Congressional intern was murdered. The examples are, sadly, endless.
DC crime can impact any of us. Many of us have had close encounters. Tolerating crime in our capital city is, therefore, unacceptable going forward.
Make D.C. Safe Again.