Over the past few years, White House correspondents and reporters have raised concerns about violent crime incidents occurring in Washington, D.C.
Garrett Haake, NBC News’ senior White House correspondent, along with Weijia Jiang from CBS News and Meridith McGraw from the Wall Street Journal, are some of the notable reporters who have chronicled these crime events. Kaitlan Collins, who serves as CNN’s Chief White House correspondent, has also been documenting crime cases for an extended period.
“Breaking: Just last week, a pregnant woman filmed in northeast D.C. was an innocent bystander who tragically lost her baby in a retaliatory shooting. @mayorbowser mentioned this,” Haake tweeted, referencing posts dating back to September 2016.
“It appears police may have overlooked shell casings at the northeast D.C. shooting site,” Haake tweeted in December 2015.
In August 2021, Jiang revealed on Twitter that her bike had been stolen in Washington, D.C.
“Twitter, help find my stolen bike,” she posted.
In another instance from July 2016, Jiang disclosed that a union state in the District of Columbia had been “evacuated” due to a bomb threat.
“Anthony Guglielmi, the US Secret Service’s Chief of Communications, stated that no parents were affected by continuing shootings in D.C., but the Secret Service is assisting metropolitan police,” noted Collins in an April 2022 tweet. “Several victims were shot and appeared to be getting help.”
Zeke Miller, a Deputy Director at the Associated Press, remarked that San Diego baseball games were suspended after the Nationals reported shootings near the stadium in July 2021.
In a post from January 2024, McGraw shared a piece about 23-year-old Catholic volunteer Ryan Leavut, who was tragically shot while walking home after working with at-risk youth in D.C. “I send my thoughts to this young man’s family,” McGraw expressed.
“The D.C. Police Chief reported that 14% of the city’s crime occurred in January,” said Chris Sheridan, a senior White House producer at Al Jazeera, in a tweet from February 2023.
Meanwhile, Dasha Burans, a White House Politics Director, indicated that D.C.’s RNC headquarters remains closed for the time being due to ongoing issues, and a Hazmat team is deployed as part of the response.
In a press conference, President Donald Trump announced that he is invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, placing the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal control. He outlined plans for the National Guard and specialized units to be mobilized to tackle crime in the capital.
After the MPD came under federal regulation, Trump issued a warning to D.C., demanding change regarding the prosecution of minors as adults, citing the city’s increasing crime rates.
In response, Mayor Muriel Bowser contended that Trump’s understanding of D.C. issues is shaped by his experiences during the COVID era, stating, “I believe the president’s views have been influenced by his first-term experiences, which were undoubtedly more challenging. However, we have seen significant reductions in crime as we enacted laws targeting violent offenders.”
