Washington – Federal agents should have a much stronger and visible presence in the streets of Washington from Friday after several days of denigration of the crime rate of President Donald Trump.
“President Trump directed an increased presence of the application of federal laws to protect innocent citizens,” the white house press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, calling for the city “in the grip of violent crimes for too long”.
“From this evening, there will be no safe for violent criminals in the president of DC, Trump has committed to making the capital of our country safer for its residents, legislators and visitors from around the world,” she added.
A White House official said that the seven -day effort, led by American park police, will focus on tourist areas with high traffic and other hot spots in the national capital.
Federal officers “will be identified, in marked and very visible units,” said the manager, adding that the operation starting at 12 noon on Friday could extend beyond the period of a week.
Participating agents and officers will come from the Ministry of Internal Security, Immigration and Customs Application, the FBI, the American Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department and the US Marshal Service, among others, said the official.
The number of participating agents has not been specified.
It is also difficult to know if they were responsible for engaging in an “activity” beyond typical tasks or what would be their role beyond the presence of federal goods, said a Washington official.
Trump has signed this year a decree known this year known as “making the Columbia district sure and beautiful”, which leads a working group to guarantee federal participation in the application of the law of the United States, the displacement of the resources available to the expulsion of undocumented immigrants in the Washington region and the examination of federal prosecution policies linked to pre-trial detention, among others.
In recent days, Trump has criticized the “crime” in the district, even if local police data show that violent crimes are down 26% compared to last year.
Trump specifically cited a recent attack on Edward Coristine, a former employee of the Government Ministry, also known by his online name, “Big Balls”, who was the victim of a car and attack last weekend, a police report said. Police then arrested two 15 -year -olds from Maryland.
Trump wrote on Tuesday on Truth Social that “the law in DC must be changed to continue these” minors “in adulthood, and lock them for a long time, from 14 years.”
“If DC does not come together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take federal control of the city, and to manage this city how it should be managed and to put the criminals in note that they no longer stick,” he added. “If it continues, I will exercise my powers and federalize this city.”
Trump threatened a federal takeover of the Washington government, saying this week that lawyers of the White House are examining whether the congress should cancel a law known as Home Rule Act in 1973, which allows residents to elect their own mayor and members of the municipal council.
Monica Alba and Laura Strickler reported Washington and Zoë Richards from New York.