Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

‘It’s A Good Thing’: DC Resident Praises Trump’s Crime Crackdown

[Screenshot/Fox LOCAL]

A teacher in Washington, D.C., praised President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime because it ensures that the nation’s capital is “safe” and “secure.”

Trump’s federal takeover and deployment of the National Guard has led to nearly 400 arrests since Aug. 11, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed. In response, Elliot Reed told Fox LOCAL that Trump’s crackdown is assuring him that action is being taken to keep Washington safe.

“I think it’s a good thing because it actually reinforces the fact that America is secure, safe [and] stable,” Reed said. “As a moderate, as a centrist, I think something needs to be done. I have three kids, I’m about to start teaching next week. I want it to be safe.”

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Officers made 137 arrests on Saturday and Sunday and seized 21 illegal guns, the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro said. Pirro’s office has sent out warrants for crimes relating to homicide, drug trafficking, sex crimes and others.

More than 40% of those arrested were reportedly illegal immigrants, The Washington Post reported. On Friday alone, 28 of the 52 arrested were illegal immigrants, according to Fox News.

High-profile violent crime incidents have plagued Washington in 2025 , including the fatal shootings of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym and two Israeli Embassy staffers outside of the Capital Jewish Museum. The administration aggressively took action in August following the brutal beating of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward Coristine as he attempted to stop a carjacking.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Thursday X post that law enforcement charged 45 individuals on Wednesday night with the assault of a police officer, fugitive apprehensions, the possession of child sex abuse material and illegal firearms, along with drug trafficking and an assault on an officer with a Subway sandwich. Bondi later revealed that the individual who threw the Subway sandwich worked as a law enforcement officer at the Department of Justice (DOJ) until the incident occurred.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has argued that violent crime decreased by 26% since 2024, though its database does not include aggravated or felony assaults. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which includes those crimes, shows that violent crime only went down 10% in that timeframe.

Washington settled a lawsuit with former Sergeant Charlotte Djossou on Thursday, who sued the city for allegedly undercounting felonies and violent crimes. Records show that leaders in the MPD instructed officers to reclassify crimes to exclude them from public statistics.