U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday shared new crime statistics for Washington, D.C., amid the Trump administration’s increased crackdown, which includes the deployment of some 2,000 National Guard troops.
In a post on X, Bondi wrote that authorities made 76 arrests on Saturday of Labor Day weekend.
Why It Matters
Tensions remain high in the nation’s capital after President Donald Trump deployed 800 National Guard troops to the streets to remove homeless people and end crime in the city. Some states deployed their own National Guard troops to Washington to bolster those efforts, bringing the total number of troops to around 2,000.
The six states that decided to send troops to Washington are West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina and Ohio.
Compared to the most populated states in the country, such as California, New York and Texas, Washington, D.C.’s crime rate against persons appears to be higher, according to FBI data.
The Justice Department under former President Joe Biden in January 2025 released data showing that total violent crime in 2024 was down in Washington, hitting “the lowest it has been in over 30 years,” citing Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) statistics.
What To Know
On Friday, The New York Times reported that crime in Washington has fallen since Trump’s troop deployment, though a significant portion of arrests resulted from misdemeanor crimes. The crackdown has resulted in around 1,000 arrests in two weeks, about one-third of which have involved federal forces.
Bondi on Sunday posted a graphic that pushed that number to 1,528 arrests, including 156 illegal guns seized, two arrests for threats against law enforcement, an arrest for assault on federal officers with threats to kill the president, and an MS-13 gang member.
This added to the roughly 80 arrests and 11 illegal firearms seized overnight Friday.
76 arrests yesterday and 5 illegal guns seized as part of our operation to make DC safe again.This includes two arrests for threats against law enforcement, an arrest for assault on federal officers with threats to kill President Trump, and an illegal alien MS-13 gang member. pic.twitter.com/VfBuSYoQeU
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 31, 2025
“This Labor Day weekend, our nation’s capital is a safer place thanks to our DC and Federal law enforcement partners,” Bondi wrote in a post on X on Saturday.
Trump has posted regular updates as well about the crime in Washington, most recently posting on Friday that carjacking was down 87 percent, and that “all other categories of crime are likewise down massively since I got involved.”
“DC will soon be a crime FREE ZONE, in only 14 days, far faster than scheduled,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that total crime was down 19 percent, with violent crime down 30 percent, saying that the model displayed in Washington “can be replicated in other crime-ridden cities across the nation.”
Newsweek could not confirm these numbers and has reached out to the MPD by email on Sunday for verification and additional information.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported on Sunday that robberies spiked over the weekend, with seven holdups reported in less than 12 hours from Friday into Saturday, which occurred alongside the numbers shared by Bondi on X.
Specifically looking at the time period following the deployment of National Guard Troops—referred to by the MPD in its data as “Federal Surge data”—the police note a roughly 50 percent drop in various types of violent crime, amounting to an overall 40 percent drop in violent crime compared to the same time period in 2024 between August 7-30.
The biggest change in crime—and the one that Trump has latched onto most—is carjackings, which dropped 82 percent with 33 cases reported in 2024 and just six reported in 2025. Overall arrests have increased by 24 percent and calls for assistance increased by 15 percent.
Property crime saw a much smaller drop of around 11 percent, with an overall drop in total crime of around 14 percent, according to MPD data—largely due to the fact that violent crimes in that period remain relatively few, with 226 violent crimes reported in 2024 and 135 reported in 2025, but bulk of which were robberies in each year. Assault with a deadly weapon remains virtually unchanged with 60 such crimes reported in 2024 and 61 in 2025.
Property crimes make up the bulk of crimes in Washington, with around 1,745 reported in 2024 in that three-week period, and 1,561 this year since the National Guard deployed to the city.
As of Friday, the MPD reported that violent crime year-to-date had dropped by around 27 percent from 2024 to 2025 relative to the same time in the year, with robberies and sex abuse seeing the biggest drops.
Property crime has seen a smaller drop of around 5 percent, with burglary and arson seeing drops of 22 percent and 33 percent, respectively, while motor vehicle theft and other types of theft down only 4 to 5 percent, marking an overall drop in total crime of about 8 percent.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post: “DC is virtually, in just 14 days, a CRIME FREE ZONE. The people living and working there are ecstatic!!! President DJT.”
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki last week wrote on X: “When kids are getting shot in their pews at a catholic school mass and your crime plan is to have national guard put mulch down around DC maybe rethink your strategy.”
Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, last week wrote on X: “I wonder why the grand jury in DC failed to indict the subway sandwich thrower… I mean this has to be the biggest crime ever committed in DC! LMAO, DC residents clearly aren’t ok with being the pawns that everyone else around Trump have decided to be! DC STATEHOOD NOW!”
What Happens Next?
Members of the National Guard are due to remain in Washington, D.C., until the end of next month.
The post Trump Administration Continues Touting Success of DC Crime Crackdown appeared first on Newsweek.
