Donald Trump a mobilisé la Garde nationale à Washington, des mesures exceptionnelles pour cette ville qu’il dit «envahie par des gangs violents», tandis que la maire de la capitale américaine dément une hausse de la criminalité.
Le président américain a dit déployer, dans un premier temps, 800 militaires de la Garde nationale, afin de rétablir «la loi, l’ordre, et la sécurité publique» à Washington, rappelant la mobilisation de cette dernière à Los Angeles, en juin, après des manifestations.
Ces gardes nationaux sont des militaires réservistes formés pour intervenir sur des catastrophes naturelles, mais peuvent également combattre à l’étranger. La Garde nationale américaine est un corps de réserve des forces armées américaines. A l’inverse des militaires d’active, ses membres ne sont pas mobilisés à plein temps et ont un autre emploi, civil.
Contrairement aux autres branches des forces armées, les gardes nationaux sont organisés au niveau des États. Ils sont présents dans l’ensemble des 50 États américains ainsi que certains territoires comme Porto Rico ou Guam. C’est donc le gouverneur de chaque État qui peut mobiliser et commander cette force, sauf à Washington, ville qui jouit d’un statut particulier, et dont la Garde nationale dépend uniquement du président.
Mais il arrive aussi que le président prenne son contrôle direct dans un État à la demande du gouverneur local, ou en outrepassant son autorité, ainsi que l’a fait Donald Trump, à Los Angeles, le 7 juin, une première depuis les années 1960. Le budget du ministère de la Défense américaine autorise un total de 433.000 gardes nationaux dans le pays, contre environ 1,3 million de militaires d’active.
00:00So he says he's cracking down on crime and he's going to continue to use the power of the presidency to do it.
00:05Trump's federal takeover of policing here in our nation's capital is sparking debate as 850 federal agents hit the streets of D.C.
00:12Last night, making 23 arrests from homicide to reckless driving, according to the White House.
00:17The president insisting that D.C. has been taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.
00:22But according to Metropolitan Police stats, despite a spike of crime in 2023, rates of violent crime has actually hit a 30-year low.
00:30D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser met with the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about the federal takeover of her police department this morning.
00:36She briefed reporters right after the meeting.
00:39The executive order is pretty clear and so is the law.
00:43The president has the authority by virtue of the statute to request services.
00:49Our organizational chart, how we do business, how we fund the police, how we make changes, none of that has changed.
00:56Our Perry Russell was tracking not only the meeting, but the press conference as well.
01:03So what more do we actually know about these arrests that the White House touted, these 23 arrests, and how this combined law enforcement effort is actually working, Perry?
01:13Yeah, as you mentioned, 23 arrests.
01:15Those charges include homicide, firearms offenses, possession with intent to distribute, and then also six illegal handguns were taken off of the street.
01:23As you mentioned just a short time ago, about 850 officers as well as some federal agents were sent across the city last night.
01:29So 850 officers plus federal agents, no National Guard members have been sent out.
01:35But as we've been talking about all day, we're very curious to see what this looks like going forward once the National Guard is implemented and they are on the streets of Washington, D.C.
01:43The Army giving us some more information today on what the National Guard will be doing.
01:47They say it's a three-pronged approach looking at administrative issues, logistical issues, as well as that physical presence.
01:52And so physically seeing the National Guard members in D.C., Kira.
01:56Well, President Trump also putting out a warning to the locals here in our nation's capital.
02:01Let's take a listen.
02:04They love to spit in the face of the police as the police are standing up there in uniform.
02:11They're standing and they're screaming at them an inch away from their face.
02:16And then they start spitting in their face.
02:19And I said, you tell them, you spit and we hit.
02:23And they can hit real hard.
02:26He's talking about these protesters that aren't really digging the new police policy here.
02:31What do you think?
02:32Is the way we see law enforcement in our nation's capital going to change for a while, maybe be more aggressive?
02:39Yeah, I mean, just for the short time being, we know this is supposed to last at least 30 days.
02:43If this does last longer, it's going to take an act of Congress to try and extend the national takeover of the police department.
02:49But just hearing from the police union president yesterday, he is very supportive of this idea.
02:54He says his officers are stretched thin and essentially they're looking for any help that they can get.
02:58And then also hearing from the mayor today and the police chief, they're pretty open to this idea,
03:03trying to see how they can use all of these federal resources together to try and quell any issues with the crime rates here in D.C.
03:10So I think a lot of people here in D.C. are very curious just to see what this looks like going forward and then how long this will last, too.
03:17Because a 30-day window, you know, what happens once that window is over?
03:20We're very curious to see what the White House deems successful and what they want to do after this 30-day window, Kira.
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