Protesters continue to blast the Trump administration's takeover of policing in Washington, D.C., likening it to an "invasion" even as crime plummets.
Demonstrators, who did not appear to be part of a specific organization while on a pedestrian bridge on the I-95 in Virginia near the city this week, said that "our systems are being assaulted."
"What the problem is, is that these are the National Guard are like my friends' sons and daughters," one woman told Fox News Digital. "It's their time away from their family. The money being wasted to make a point is really sort of disgraceful and un-American because they're sending them against actual Americans with weapons. And it's really an invasion. And we're not Russia, we're the United States of freaking America."
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The DC Police Union says crime has taken a tumble since the takeover was announced by President Donald Trump earlier this month. On Thursday, it was noted that there were no reported homicides in the city in the past week.
In addition to the National Guard, numerous federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI, are on patrol in the capital city. Attorney General Pam Bondi signed an order that prompts local officers to comply with federal immigration authorities in a strong rebuke to the city's own sanctuary policies.
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"719 arrests and 91 illegal guns seized in Washington, DC Just yesterday we made 40 arrests, took 5 more illegal firearms off our streets, and had 36 ICE arrests-including a suspected MS-13 gang member. Thank you [President Trump] for your unwavering support to make DC safe again!" Bondi posted to X on Friday morning.
Trump threatened to take the takeover a step further in a Truth Social post on Friday.
"Washington, D.C. is SAFE AGAIN! The crowds are coming back, the spirit is high, and our D.C. National Guard and Police are doing a fantastic job. They are out in force, and are NOT PLAYING GAMES!!!" he wrote.
"As bad as it sounds to say, there were no murders this week for the first time in memory. Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City! Washington D.C. will soon be great again!!!" the president added.
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Another protester noted he was glad to see that crime has dropped in the city but said declaring the crime issue in Washington, D.C., was not necessary.
"I really do believe that we are edging into an area where we are not following the law, where we're not doing the things that we need to be doing in order to serve the people," he said.
"I'm very happy that crime's down, and it doesn't surprise me at all if you're going to have troops and a lot of people having law enforcement on the streets," he said. "The problem with this is that we are making an emergency out of something that wasn't an emergency."
