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'We Are … In A Warzone': DC Councilman Calls On Biden To Deploy National Guard To City

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  vic-eldred  •  last year  •  22 comments

By:   Democratic Councilman Trayon White, Sr. (dailycaller)

'We Are … In A Warzone': DC Councilman Calls On Biden To Deploy National Guard To City
A Democratic councilman in the District of Columbia is calling on the Biden administration to deploy the National Guard to stop gun violence in the city.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T


A Democratic councilman in the District of Columbia is calling on the Biden administration to deploy the National Guard to stop gun violence in the city, according to remarks at a press conference attended by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

In Washington, D.C., the homicide rate has increased by 28% and robbery by 60% since 2022, most of which are committed by minors, according to crime statistics published by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Democratic Councilman Trayon White Sr., who represents Ward 8 on the City Council, has said that "desperate times call for desperate measures" and that "sworn and armed national guardsmen" are necessary to stop the violence, primarily in the Anacostia region. (RELATED: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Admits City Has Faced 'Concerning Increases In Crime')

"We are clearly in a warzone. Rapid bursts of gunfire are heard all over the city … the presence of AK-47s and AR-15s are a danger to our community," White said, adding that MPD officers were not equipped to combat the violence, requiring the National Guard to be present. "Handguns on our police are no match for artillery, for high-powered rifles in our community. We know that officers with a handgun can't combat three people with AR-15s."

A pastor, Joy Sky, whose family members were victims of gun violence, prays at a press conference hosted by Democratic Councilman Trayon White, Sr., about deploying the National Guard. Arjun Singh.

White said that he had spoken with the D.C. National Guard and the mayor's office, noting that Mayor Muriel Bowser was on vacation at the time. The deployment of the Guard necessarily involved the intervention of President Joe Biden, he said.

"We are looking to take our case to the White House and all those partners in between us and the president," White said, in response to a question from the DCNF. Unlike in states, where the governor is the commander-in-chief of the National Guard unless federalized, the president of the United States directly controls the D.C. National Guard.

White said that he did not expect constitutional challenges to the deployment of the National Guard, since he would be working with legal experts to curate the Guard's deployment. He noted that D.C. authorities had requested specific details on the Guard's duties and scope of deployment in advance of a decision.

Beyond deploying National Guard, White pushed back against notions of "defunding the police," which have been called for by some federally-elected Democrats. "I want to dispel the myth that we're trying to defund the police. The issue right now in our community is that we don't have enough officers, don't have enough resources," he said.

Members of the community who attended the press conference echoed White's statements in comments to the DCNF, saying that the National Guard was necessary to stop gang violence, which has been killing young people.

"We're not going to get anything done by using normal procedures. We need the National Guard. I truly think we do. They should have the power of arrest and patrol like the D.C. Police," said Rocky Twyman, who had come to watch White's remarks. "We had a carjacking down the street. I'm a senior citizen. I'm frightened."

"I've been here since 1960 and I'm tired," said Paul Kearney, a chaplain who lived down the street from the press conference, which itself was held at the site of a shooting that had killed three over the previous weekend. He added that the D.C. government had to "start holding kids as adults [or] hold their parents responsible" for the violence.

The D.C. government currently operates a pre-trial diversion program for minor offenders, which enables some teenagers arrested for violent crimes to be released under supervision in lieu of confinement. This was criticized by Dr. Kevin Fields, the executive director of Father Factor, Inc., a group that works to persuade youths away from gun violence in D.C., who attended the press conference.

"Young juveniles are being arrested for carjacking and being released the next day. The judges don't seem like they have power," Fields said. "We should be holding people more accountable when they're committing these heinous crimes. The judges need more power … if the crime fits, we may need to look at trying them as adults."

Fields also attributed the problem of gun violence in the city to substance abuse, including the use of fentanyl-laced narcotics. Most fentanyl in the United States is trafficked over the border with Mexico, where the Biden administration has been criticized by congressional Republicans and Democrats over its border security and asylum policies that, allegedly, permit trafficking into the United States.

Apart from White, several mothers of children killed and maimed by gun violence in the city spoke with emotion at the conference, saying they feared for their own lives as well as those of their remaining children.

"My youngest son was paralyzed from the waist down. You can't go into the store with your kids in the car because you fear they are going to get shot," said Asia Tammimi, a community organizer whose children were shot. "Using high-powered weapons, without training and while driving, you're going to hit innocents," she said.

White said that, later on, Tuesday, he would be meeting with the interim chief of police in D.C. and other officials to discuss the particulars of deploying the National Guard. "If we can't protect our kids, what are we really doing?" he implored, over hecklers who accused him of staging a "photo op" instead of addressing the problem.

"We are burying our children. They are not burying us," said Joy Sky, a pastor who had lost members of her families to gun violence.

"The councilman. The mayor. Joe Biden. Do something!"

The White House and Bowser's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


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Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Vic Eldred    last year

They are looking for a democrat to restore law & order, but as Jessica Tarlov recently pointed out "they aren't going to vote for a Republican."

Therefore: FUCK THEM!


BTW calling for the National Guard sounds very familiar.....Oh ya, Trump was right AGAIN!

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
1.1  Tessylo  replied to  Vic Eldred @1    last year

Sounds like this is a ploy to get the former 'president's' trial out of DC.

I DON'T THINK IT WILL WORK!

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.1.1  seeder  Vic Eldred  replied to  Tessylo @1.1    last year

Is that what it sounds like?

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
1.1.2  Tessylo  replied to  Vic Eldred @1.1.1    last year

Well, maybe not, but I don't believe there are gangs or groups of people roaming the streets with AK-47s, etc

This 'article' is pointing to the Anacostia area - so it's not like it's right next door to the White House

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
1.1.3  Tessylo  replied to  Vic Eldred @1.1.1    last year

Why is White 'pushing back notions of de-funding the police'?

No one is calling for de-funding the police anywhere, not Democrats.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.1.4  seeder  Vic Eldred  replied to  Tessylo @1.1.2    last year

It's part of DC. Don't you believe the residents?

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.1.5  seeder  Vic Eldred  replied to  Tessylo @1.1.3    last year
not Democrats.

Democratic mayors  in nearly two dozen major cities across the United States who have publicly called for  defunding the police  have received personal protection from a police detail at taxpayers' expense.

Democratic mayors who called to defund the police spent millions on own security details (yahoo.com)


We all lived through it!

 
 
 
Right Down the Center
Masters Guide
1.1.6  Right Down the Center  replied to  Tessylo @1.1.3    last year
No one is calling for de-funding the police anywhere

They have already defunded them in many dem cities.  And now they are having trouble finding police to take their place since police have been totally demonized by dems and the media.

It is sad but the people are now  suffering because of their own actions.  Looking for the fed to help them out while they keep voting for the same people that got them where they are is not the answer.

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
1.2  Texan1211  replied to  Vic Eldred @1    last year

Yeah, imagine, the folks who keep voting for incompetents are now looking for a bailout.

Bunch of freaking idiots.

Raise your damn kids right, monitor them don't let them run the streets until all hours, stop doing dumb stuff like defunding the police, no cash bail, slight slaps on the wrist for juveniles, etc.

Joe isn't half smart enough to fix all the fuck ups in these Democratic bastions of civility.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.2.1  seeder  Vic Eldred  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2    last year

I don't know when they'll learn to stop voting for democrats.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
2  seeder  Vic Eldred    last year

Listen to them squirm:

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3  seeder  Vic Eldred    last year

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
4  charger 383    last year

DC should be put back the way it used to be

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
4.1  Tessylo  replied to  charger 383 @4    last year

How did it used to be?

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
4.1.1  charger 383  replied to  Tessylo @4.1    last year

Under control of Congress

 
 
 
Drinker of the Wry
Senior Expert
5  Drinker of the Wry    last year

Maybe it's time to bring back Midnight Basketball.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
5.1  seeder  Vic Eldred  replied to  Drinker of the Wry @5    last year

Ya, that would solve it!

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
6  Texan1211    last year

I swear, Democrats fuck things up then expect the President to deploy the NG because DC can't handle itself properly?

Maybe they just needed to paint more intersections in rainbows in DC to settle the young'uns down!

 
 
 
Right Down the Center
Masters Guide
7  Right Down the Center    last year

"Handguns on our police are no match for artillery, for high-powered rifles in our community. We know that officers with a handgun can't combat three people with AR-15s."

So give the police AR-15s and tactical gear.  And then you can whine and defund them again in 6 months when they shoot a thug with it.

 
 
 
Drinker of the Wry
Senior Expert
8  Drinker of the Wry    last year

30 years ago, the DC Mayor asked Pres Clinton to activate the NG to deal with the drug trafficking and violent crime plaguing the city.  Last summer, the Mayor asked for the National Guard to deal with the migrant "crisis".  

Perhaps they think that the NG will help make the officials look like they are doing something.

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
8.1  Texan1211  replied to  Drinker of the Wry @8    last year

DC has been plagued by ineffective mayors.

I blame the idiots who were stupid enough to vote Marion Berry back into office.  They are getting what they voted for, so what are they bitching about?

 
 

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