Mixed Reactions to Crackdown on DC Crime

Using powers authorized by the Home Rule Act, President Trump ordered the deployment of National Guard troops, FBI agents, and other federal law-enforcement officers to patrol the streets of Washington DC. This move has been met with mixed reactions.

Citing a similar protest where Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich) called attention to Israeli atrocities against Hamas by banging a pot, Free DC Project Campaign Director Alex Dodds urged supporters to "bang pots and pans every night until this occupation by an invading army is ended. We will multiply Rep. Tlaib's effort by a thousand fold. Everyone in the city will hear our message and rise up against Trump's tyranny."

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) called Trump's move "unnecessary. I have been in Congress for more than four decades and have always felt perfectly safe. I've never been assaulted. I've never been carjacked. The notion that taxpayers should have to bear the cost of unneeded troops and FBI agents patrolling what I've found to be safe streets is wasteful spending." Fox News pointed out that "Sen. Schumer has a full-time security detail that accompanies him wherever he goes in DC."

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) accused Trump "of hypocrisy. Most of the victims of crime in DC are not important people. The nation can easily survive without them. But four years ago when MAGA protesters trespassed inside the Capitol Trump failed to deploy the National Guard. Over 500 of this country's most important government officials were left in great peril." Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund pointed out that "it was Speaker Pelosi who failed to authorize the National Guard troops President Trump requested. But even without these troops every member of Congress was able to run away before they were harmed."

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, wants to introduce a resolution declaring that there is no crime emergency. "Look, DC has been a cesspool of crime for generations," he said. "Between the self-serving sellouts to corporate bribery, insider trading, and nepotism by members of Congress to the vicious murders by criminal gangs, run amok teenagers, and brutal domestic violence the city has been beset by criminality. It is a generations long way of life. Every member of Congress knows this. Trump is naive to think otherwise. The Constitution gave control over DC to Congress. I implore my colleagues to use our constitutional authority and cancel Trump's takeover by simply declaring that there is no emergency."

Brian Schwalb, attorney general for the District of Columbia, filed a suit asking for a restraining order against the federal intervention, calling it "the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced and an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home."

The @DCPoliceUnion issued a statement supporting Trump's intervention, saying "crime is spiraling out of control. Immediate action is necessary to restore public safety. The reinforcements the President is bringing are needed. Once safety is sufficiently increased the full reins can be returned to the local police."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the President's action, saying "when Washington has a higher per capita murder rate than places like Islamabad, Bogota, and Mexico City I think most people would see the need for improved law-enforcement. Privileged individuals like Sen. Schumer and Rep. Pelosi have bodyguards paid for by the taxpayers. Most DC residents do not. President Trump is trying to see that citizens get a higher level of protection than they have been getting from the Democrats who run the city. Sane people would regard this as a good thing."

Donor Irked by Bike Lane

Jay Cashman, a multi-million dollar donor to the campaign of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, isn't pleased with the placement of a new bike lane next to his $19 million mansion. Cashman contends that "these new bike lanes will decrease safety, eliminate too many parking spaces, lead to more traffic congestion, and lead to slower response times for emergency vehicles."

Mayor Wu asserts that "bike lanes make roads safer. Crashes have declined by 51% on streets where bikers and drivers are separated by posts or other barriers. They also make it more convenient and affordable for those who can't afford to own a motor vehicle or a mansion to live and move about the city."

The Mayor went on to add "Sen. Bernie Sanders (S-Vt) has pointed out, no one needs to have a billion dollars or live in a mansion. Candidate for New York City mayor Zoran Mamdani has promised to abolish private property. If he wins I think other mayors will be considering whether to do the same in their cities. How many low-income families could live in the $19 million mansion now hogged by one rich Boston resident?"

Judge Exempts Antifa from Noise Ordinance

Resident Cloud Elvengrail filed a complaint that "the 24-hour Antifa occupation outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in South Portland is disturbing the peace. Every day for months I've had to endure around the clock loud and shrill noises. It's pure torture. I want the police to enforce the City's anti-noise codes."

Elvengrail also complained of harassment and and intimidation. Other witnesses from the neighborhood corroborated her testimony, saying they "didn't feel safe." Video evidence of assaults on federal agents, members of the media and residents, as well as arson attacks on the ICE facility were also presented.

Elvengrail's attorneys argued that "the city has failed to enforce its anti-noise codes and the Portland Police have failed to respond to ongoing unlawful assemblies outside the ICE facility, which the agency is obligated to quell under a Department of Justice consent decree."

Attorneys for the city argued that "forcing police to respond the way one resident wants them to respond sets a scary precedent."

Multnomah County Judge Ellen Rosenbaum ruled against Elvengrail, saying "there is insufficient evidence to prove that the police have not done their duty as they see it. While I have sympathy for the impacted residents, the free speech rights of the protesters outweigh the residents' expectation for peace and quiet after midnight."

VP Breaks the Law

While on a mission to conduct diplomatic discussions in the United Kingdom earlier this month, US Vice-President JD Vance and his children went fishing with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Both Vance and his children broke the law because they didn't have a fishing license. Lammy called the lack of a license "an administrative error, which I made up for it by purchasing it later."

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif) called for an investigation, saying "this latest example of lawbreaking by a member of the Trump Administration must not go unpunished. That the Vice-President of the United States of America would go to a foreign country and violate its laws is unforgivable. It severely damages our nation's image and reputation all over the world. I think this should put impeachment on our agenda."

Apprised of Swalwell's complaint, Lammy insisted, "it was my oversight, Vice-President Vance was my guest. He knew nothing of the license requirement. He should not be blamed in anyway."

Swalwell was not appeased. "I've always heard it said that ignorance of the law is no excuse. We can't allow Vance to get off so easily."

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La) wryly observed "I would have to say that inadvertently fishing without a license seems like a lesser offense than sleeping with a Chinese spy."

In rebuttal, Swalwell asserted "fishing without a license is illegal. Sleeping with a foreign spy is not. That's why I was exonerated when the House investigated me two years ago."

In related news, newly declassified FBI records reveal that in 2017 Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell were the sources of leaks intended to damage President Trump during his first term of office. In response, Swalwell dared current FBI Director Kash Patel "to come and get me, copper." Schiff claimed that "President Biden gave me a pardon for every crime I committed since I first entered Congress in 2001."