Democratic D.C. Councilman Calls For National Guard to Restore Order in Capital: ‘I Am Tired of Burying Our Children’

Lenin Nolly/Sipa USA via AP Images

Trayon White Sr., a Democratic Washington, D.C. city councilman representing Ward 9 in the nation’s capital, is calling for the National Guard’s intervention in the city’s crime crisis.

“The crime is out of control and getting worse by the day. We must declare an emergency regarding the crime and violence in our neighborhoods and act urgently. It may be time to call on the National Guard to protect the children and innocent people that are losing their lives to this senselessness,” declared White.

“I am tired of burying our children,” he continued. “We are too comfortable with the state of our city. We must take action to gain control and protect our residents. Law enforcement is only one part of how we combat public safety issues. It will take all of us to heal our community.”

Skyrocketing crime rates in D.C. have been accentuated by a particularly violent start to August. In the first 5 days of the month, the city recorded 13 homicides. On the year, homicides are up 28%, robbery is up 60%, violent crime more generally is up 37%, and all crime is up 30% over 2022..

The city has also already recorded 596 carjacking cases, 77% of which involved firearms. Only 78 arrests have been made in those cases.

Last year, the city council voted to lower the criminal penalties for a number of crimes, including carjacking and armed carjacking, but it was withdrawn after Congress rejected the changes.

Last month, the city council approved emergency crime bills meant to address the deteriorating situation in the city, including by making it easier to detain those accused of violent crimes until their trial.

White’s call for the use of the National Guard comes three years after progressives across the country insisted that Senator Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) call for its intervention during the wave of violent riots across the country during the summer of 2020 threatened African-Americans’ lives.

National Guard troops did show up in D.C. at the time, prompting Mayor Muriel Bowser to call for their removal.

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