FBI Director Kash Patel said he's working with a team of law enforcement agencies to utilize "simplicity in law enforcement" to manage what President Donald Trump announced was the return of "public safety" to Washington, D.C.
Trump on Monday said he was putting federal agencies in charge of the D.C. police department and that he was additionally ordering the deployment of National Guard troops to the city to assist in bringing crime under control.
Patel told reporters at the White House that he will be using an approach in D.C. similar to what he helped develop in Virginia: a joint and cooperative venture. "And what are we going to bring to D.C.? We stood up a task force out in my Northern Virginia field office and we said, Let's let good cops be cops. Let's get them the intelligence and what they need."
Patel said that includes streamlining investigations through processing arrests and charging. "And let's get the red tape out of their way. And let's get DOJ partnered up with us to bring great prosecutions. And that's exactly what we did." He said the results speak for themselves. "In one month, we arrested 545 violent felons, 545 in the state of Virginia."
The FBI director said that when everyone works together, crime and lawlessness can be controlled. "And when you have the DOJ and President Trump driving behind this mission, we are going to clean up Washington, D.C., and we're going to do it the right way, the lawful way, and we're going to make sure Washington, D.C., is safe again."
Patel said law enforcement in general has taken a dramatic turn toward protecting America since the inauguration of Trump. At a national level, he said, "murder rates are plummeting. We are now able to report that the murder rate is on track to be the lowest in modern recorded U.S. history."
Trump posted on Sunday that he intended to take a significant step toward crime in D.C. when he wrote that criminals should leave, or "We’re going to put you in jail where you belong. It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border. We went from millions pouring in, to ZERO in the last few months. This will be easier — Be prepared! There will be no 'MR. NICE GUY.' We want our Capital BACK."
As many as 500 federal agents are being deployed to the D.C. Capitol area, and as many as 800 National Guard troops will be on station there in less than a week.
Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser told The Associated Press in anticipation of the Monday announcement that use of the National Guard to support local law enforcement has little value and that more prosecutors and judges would have a greater impact on safety.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.