How D.C. Residents Feel About Crime and the Federal Takeover of Their City
D.C. residents react to President Trump’s decision to take control of the city’s police force under emergency powers.
Note: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?
Residents of Washington, D.C., are still adapting to life under federal control after President Trump seized authority over the city’s police force and deployed the National Guard. Nearly 400 people have been arrested and hundreds more troops from West Virginia, Ohio, South Carolina and Mississippi continue to pour in. Geoff Bennett reports on what residents make of the president’s move.
View the transcript of the story.
Discussion Questions
- Who has been deployed to D.C. in recent days? What group has President Trump seized authority over through his executive order?
- What other states have joined in sending troops to D.C.?
- When did Trump request governors to send in National Guard members?
- How do D.C. residents feel about the National Guard in D.C.?
- Why did Trump declare a state of emergency in D.C. despite a sharp drop in crime since 2023, and overall for the past 30 years?
Focus Questions
- How does the presence of the National Guard in D.C. change how D.C. residents feel about their city?
- How do you think crime and safety issues should be handled where you live?
- Media Literacy: The guest works for a think tank called The Manhattan Institute. What is a think tank? What do you know about the Manhattan Institute? How could you find out more information about what it does?
Extension Activity
Has your state decided to send National Guard members to Washington D.C.? Conduct a brief internet search and share with your class what you learned.
For example, according to Vermont Public, Republican Gov. Phil Scot of Vermont has declined sending his state's National Guard to D.C. “While public safety is a legitimate concern in cities across the country and certainly in the nation’s capital, in the absence of an immediate emergency or disaster that local and regional first responders are unable to handle, the governor just does not support utilizing the guard for this purpose, and does not view the enforcement of domestic law as a proper use of the National Guard,” Scott’s chief of staff, Jason Gibbs, said in a statement Friday.
You may also want to take a look at News Hour's most recent piece on this topic, A look at D.C. crime stats as Trump and city leaders offer competing claims and discuss with a family member or neighbor whether or not the National Guard should be deployed to cities to help fight crime or if it should be left up to local authorities.
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Republished with permission from PBS News Hour Classroom.
PBS News Hour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of News Hour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for... See More
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