President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his administration will seek capital punishment for anyone who commits murder in Washington, D.C.
The president said that the death penalty is a “strong preventive” for crime in the nation’s capital, which had the fourth highest murder rate in 2024, according to the Rochester Institute of Technology. Only one murder has occurred since Trump’s crackdown began on Aug. 7.
“Anybody murders something in the capital, [it’s] capital punishment. Capital, capital punishment. If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty and that’s a very strong preventative,” Trump said. “And everybody that [has] heard it agrees with it. I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have no choice … if somebody kills somebody … it’s the death penalty.”
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The first homicide in Washington since Trump’s federal takeover happened in the Southeast part of the city on Monday night. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) confirmed that an adult male suffered from a gunshot wound and later died from his injuries at the hospital.
Before that incident, there had been no murders recorded during the time of Trump’s federal takeover and deployment of the National Guard to restore law and order in the nation’s capital. Authorities have arrested over 1,000 individuals, including members of MS-13 and Tren de Agua, and confiscated over 100 illegal firearms, U.S. Attorney for Washington D.C. Jeanine Pirro confirmed on Monday.
Police made 87 arrests on Monday night, which included 39 illegal immigrants, Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese reported on Tuesday.
The president signed an executive order Monday, titled, “Taking Steps To End Cashless Bail To Protect Americans,” which ends cashless bail for offenders in Washington. The order directs officials in Washington to keep those arrested in federal custody, seek charges and push for pretrial detention.
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