When 10 juveniles brutally attacked former Department of Government Efficiency whiz kid Edward Coristine—nicknamed “Big Balls” —in an attempted carjacking that left him bloodied, Washington, D.C.’s violent crime rate exploded into a political flashpoint. President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize the Washington police and bring in FBI agents and the National Guard to fight crime has upset liberals who attack it as “unnecessary” and the media who fact check Trump’s statements on crime as false. “I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before,” Trump vowed on Truth Social. “The criminals—you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.” On Monday morning, Trump unveiled his plans, announcing a historic escalation of law enforcement in Washington by deploying the National Guard to patrol the streets and placing the city’s police department under federal control. During the first half of 2025, violent crime in Washington fell 25%, with robberies dropping 26% compared to the same period in 2024. If this pace continues through the year, the violent crime rate will land around 632 crimes per 100,000 people—a level significantly lower than in recent years. Carjacking numbers tell a more sobering story. While they have dropped from 959 in 2023 to 496 in 2024, pre-COVID-19 figures were far lower: 95 in 2017, 92 in 2018, and 142 in 2019. Unfortunately, Edward Coristine isn’t the only person in Washington facing the threat of carjackings. “The number of car thefts has doubled over the past five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled,” Trump announced Monday. But news media fact-checkers quickly countered, citing “figures that the U.S. attorney released earlier this year showing a downward trajectory for these crimes.” The problem is that while carjackings fell dramatically last year, Trump is correct that they are still three times higher than five years ago. Somehow the checkers are ignoring the fact that Trump was referring to the five-year period. Washington’s violent crime rate still exceeds that of every state by at least 54% and rivals or surpasses many major cities. Other cities are also seeing declines. If New York City maintains its current pace, it will end the year with 599.7 violent crimes per 100,000 people, with cities from Boston to Dallas recording similar or lower rates. Washington is still the outlier for murders. In 2023, the last year that final FBI data is available, Washington ranked fifth for murder of the 60 most populous cities. And on Monday Trump discussed how high Washington’s murder rate was compared to other capitals around the world. But these numbers may paint an overly optimistic picture of crime in Washington, as the police union’s July allegations that department supervisors manipulated crime data to make it look as if violent crime fell more than it actually did this year. There is also the problem nationally that over the last few years there has been a large gap between total and reported crime. When crime has gotten out of control and there are few arrests and prosecutions, victims become less likely to report crime to the police. On Friday, Trump dispatched 120 FBI agents from across the country. They have already begun patrolling Washington streets overnight, reinforcing local police at carjacking hot spots. In addition, word came on Monday that the U.S. military is preparing to activate hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington. This isn’t rocket science. The research is clear that if you want to reduce crime, you need to make it risky for criminals to commit crime. Higher arrest and conviction rates as well as longer prison terms matter. Just as making it possible for people to defend themselves also make a difference. Trump’s move for FBI agents and the National Guard will increase arrest rates, and simply the threat of arrest will reduce the crime rate. This represents dramatic increases in the number of law enforcement officers. In Washington, there were 1,340 patrol officers in December 2024 and about 3,400 sworn officers, but obviously not all of these officers can be on duty all the time. Suppose a third are on duty at any point in time: That is about 450 patrol officers and 1,130 officers of any type for a population of about 720,000. “Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits,” Washington police union Chair Gregg Pemberton warned on Monday. The new FBI agents and National Guard soldiers can make a real difference. In 2022, Biden’s U.S. attorney for Washington, Matthew Graves, declined to prosecute 67% of criminal arrests in Washington—up significantly from 31% in 2016. Even in 2023, prosecutors dropped 56% of arrests. Trump’s U.S. attorneys for Washington, Ed Martin and later Jeanine Pirro, vow to crack down on violent crime, with a focus on gun violence. On Monday, Pirro pledged to “change the laws” in Washington so courts treat offenders under 18 more harshly. She criticized the leniency often given to these “young punks” because of their age. In addition, undoubtedly, Trump’s push to deport illegal alien criminals this year has helped reduce violent crime in Washington and across the nation. Republicans are also making moves to let victims defend themselves. The Republican appropriations bill for next year, now before the House, aims to change current law, allowing anyone with a valid concealed handgun permit in their home state to legally carry in Washington. With about 8,000 concealed handgun permits, only about 1.3% of the adult population has such a permit. If sustained, these combined measures—more officers on the streets, higher prosecution rates, and expanded rights for lawful self-defense—could sharply reduce Washington’s violent crime rate in the coming year. While recent declines in overall crime are encouraging, the persistence of high carjacking levels and a violent crime rate exceeding that of every state and many cities show that more can be done to make Washington safer. For Democrats who claim to care about the poor and minorities—the main victims of crime—Trump’s actions will show other cities how to get serious about reducing crime. Originally published by RealClearPolitics. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Trump’s Efforts Could Sharply Reduce DC Crime appeared first on The Daily Signal.

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom fired up a Los Angeles crowd Thursday, promoting a November ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional map in Democrats’ favor in response to Texas’ redistricting. “Donald Trump, you have poked the bear, and we will punch back,” Newsom said at the Japanese American Museum’s National Center for the Preservation of Democracy.  “Here’s the good thing about California, folks,” he continued. “We’re the size of 21 state populations combined… We are not a small, isolated state. I know they say, ‘don’t mess with Texas.’ Well, don’t mess with the great Golden State.” California currently has 43 Democrats and just nine Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, in a state where Trump received more than 38% of the vote in 2024. Newsom Calls For November Special Election To Further Redistrict CAGov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., is pushing for a new provisional congressional map by way of a special election ballot measure on November 4th, citing concerns about Republican redistricting efforts in Texas. pic.twitter.com/qLRfGdLBTs— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) August 14, 2025 Newsom is moving forward with a Nov. 4 special election, in which voters would decide on a constitutional ballot measure to allow the legislature redraw the congressional map. California currently employs a bipartisan redistricting commission to draw its district boundaries.  New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose state relies on a similar commission, has also threatened retaliatory redistricting. “We have got to meet fire with fire, and we’ve got to be held to a higher level of accountability,” Newsom said to the Democrat crowd that included California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff. “We’re doing this in reaction to a President of the United States that called a sitting governor of the state of Texas and said, ‘find me five seats.’” A member of the California Independent Redistricting Commission decries @POTUS redistricting plans, saying that the founding fathers would be “rolling in their graves." pic.twitter.com/njfCMntpSM— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) August 14, 2025 Some Texas Republicans have pushed back on Newsom and Democrats’ accusations of unfair gerrymandering, arguing they’re simply following the playbook written in Democrat-governed states. “Nothing we’re considering in Texas is anywhere near as aggressive as what already happened in California and in Illinois,” Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison told The Daily Signal Thursday. “Quite frankly, Texas should have done this [redistricting] by now. Texas should have been leading on this. In my opinion, it’s embarrassing it’s taken us so long,” he said. The post Newsom Promotes Pro-Democrat Redistricting in California appeared first on The Daily Signal.

DC Crime Victim: The City's Crime Map Never Listed My Assault

The State Department just made clear that America will no longer aid or ignore foreign censorship, calling out threats to Americans and American companies.  State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce took a subtle jab at the Biden administration when on Aug. 12 she announced that new additions to the 2024 Human Rights Report, are “addressing abuses that had not previously been covered,” including the global free speech crisis developing in places like the United Kingdom (U.K.). Bruce criticized the previous administration’s approach to human rights, saying that this year’s report “Is responsive to the legislative mandates that underpin the report rather than an expansive list of politically biased demands and assertions.”   [Story Continues on MRC Free Speech America] 

The Democratic Party of South Carolina is asking its gubernatorial candidate to reconsider his campaign after the release of video of his embarrassing arrest from May.Mullins McLeod, 53, was recorded yelling and screaming at police while wearing only his shoes and underwear in the video that was released Tuesday through a Freedom of Information Act request.'It is clear that Mr. McLeod is navigating profound challenges and should focus on his mental and emotional well-being.'McLeod was allegedly “yelling at the top of his lungs” when officers from the Charleston Police Department arrested him in downtown Charleston on May 15, according to WCBD-TV.The politician refused to identify himself to police and told them that he was god and Superman several times. He also made references to his gubernatorial campaign.“It doesn’t matter, my friend, trust me. I’m one of the most just humans to ever walk this soil,” said McLeod when asked his name.He also appears to threaten Republicans, including Attorney General Alan Wilson, who has announced a campaign for the governor's office as well.“I’m gonna kick your [expletive] teeth in,” McLeod says.The hour-long video showed his arrest and transportation to Al Cannon Detention Center, where he refuses to leave the police cruiser and tells the officer he'll sleep in the car instead."No, I’m not doing it, no,” McLeod yells to police. “I’m not getting out of this car. It’s time to go to bed.”Police refused his polite request and forced him out of the vehicle. He was booked at about 1 a.m.An officer wrote in the preliminary report of the incident that McLeod's eyes appeared “extremely bloodshot and highly dilated,” which the officer identified as symptoms “typical of an individual under the influence of a stimulant narcotic.”A City of Charleston spokesperson told WCBD that McLeod was facing one charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct as of Monday.RELATED: Female cop may lose job over suggestive TikTok video that went viral McLeod did not return requests for comment from WCBD, but he had told the Post and Courier that the arrest was "unlawful" and vowed that the voters would “know exactly what happened” before the election.A statement from South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain suggested that McLeod should step down from the campaign.“After reviewing the transcript of the dash cam footage from his recent arrest, it is clear that Mr. McLeod is navigating profound challenges and should focus on his mental and emotional well-being instead of a campaign for governor,” Spain said in part. “We offer him compassion and pray he finds the support he needs.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Far from being a new debate brought on by current events, the discussion over extending home rule to Washingtonians has been around as long as the District of Columbia itself

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