Some of the 800 National Guard members deployed by Donald Trump have begun arriving in Washington DC, after the president painted a bleak picture of crime in the nation's capital.
He by "crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse" as he also temporarily seized control of the city's police department.
On Monday, he said Washington DC was "becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness."
But is this true?
Let's take a look at the data.
What did Donald Trump say?
On Monday, local time, the US president announced he would be placing DC's police department under federal control.
The law lets Mr Trump control the police department for a month, but it's unknown how aggressive the federal presence will be.
Speaking at a White House press conference, Mr Trump said at least 800 National Guard troops would be deployed in an effort to "rescue" the city.
He has been warning of a federal takeover since last week, when a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer was allegedly assaulted during an attempted carjacking.
"Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals," Mr Trump told reporters.
"It's getting worse, not getting better. It's getting worse."
Is violent crime rising in Washington DC?
No, not according to the latest data from Washington's Metropolitan Police.
These statistics show while violent crime spiked in Washington DC in 2023, it has been declining since.
In the past year violent crimes have decreased by 26 per cent, while overall crime has declined 7 per cent, the data shows.
A recent Department of Justice report also revealed DC's violent crime plunged 35 per cent between 2023 and 2024, putting it at a 30-year low.
The report showed that compared to 2023 statistics, homicides dropped by 32 per cent, armed carjackings by 53 per cent and assaults with a dangerous weapon by 27 per cent.
This downward trend is consistent with declines being reported in other large cities across the US, according to the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ).
But the CCJ says Washington remains one of America's most dangerous big cities.
Local authorities have said young people are behind much of the city's violent crime, with a youth curfew currently in place every night across the city between 11pm and 6am.
Youth curfews have been implemented in other US cities amid a youth crime surge, although research has cast doubt on their effectiveness.
What do Washington DC leaders say?
Washington DC's crime numbers have previously been called into question, according to AP, with authorities opening an investigation into allegations officials altered some data to make it look better.
But Mayor Muriel Bowser has backed the statistics and disagreed with Mr Trump's claims of lawlessness in the district.
"We are not experiencing a spike in crime," Ms Bowser told MSNBC on Sunday, local time.
"In fact, we're watching our crime numbers go down."
DC Attorney-General Brian Schwalb also hit back on social media, claiming the Trump administration's actions were "unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful".
"There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia," he said.
What about homicide rates?
During his announcement, Mr Trump claimed murders in DC reached the highest rate in 2023 "probably ever".
"They say 25 years, but they don't know what that means because it just goes back 25 years," he said.
While DC recorded 274 murders in 2023 — the highest number in 20 years — data dating back to the 70s shows much higher homicide numbers when the city's population was smaller.
Numbers spiked in the 90s to a high of 509 homicides in 1991.
[homicide]Despite today's lower numbers, Washington DC continues to see very high homicide rates compared to the rest of the US.
Centers for Disease Control data shows DC had more murders per capita than any of the 50 US states, meanwhile city-specific data places it fourth behind St Louis, New Orleans and Detroit.
Gun violence remains a significant issue.
In 2023, Washington had the third-highest gun homicide rate among US cities with populations over 500,000, according to gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
On Monday, Mr Trump also compared Washington's homicide rates to other international capitals.
"The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City," he said.
"Some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth, much higher. This is much higher."
While it's true Washington does have higher homicide rates than many other global cities, the US generally sees higher violent crime rates than many other countries.
What's next?
During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the administration would "re-evaluate and reassess and make further decisions" after the 30-day period was over.
The White House would need approval from both House and Senate in order to extend the takeover of the police department.
Mr Trump indicated other major US cities with Democratic leadership could be targeted next by emergency powers, such as Chicago.
The city has long been plagued by violent crime, although rates dropped significantly in the first half of the year.
"If we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster," he said.
"Hopefully LA is watching."
