“Manufactured” Crime and Other Trump Hoaxes

“Manufactured” Crime and Other Trump Hoaxes Donald Trump and AG Pam “Barbi” Bondi are grabbing plenty of media attention and headlines over the invasion of Washington, DC and takeover of local law enforcement. Keep in mind that, prior to the deployment of agents from an alphabet soup of federal agencies as well as national guard soldiers from multiple states, the DC crime rate had dropped to the lowest level in decades. These are the factual statistics that describe the level of crime and public safety in DC. It is true that DC has a large influx of non-residents and tourists who enter the city, but Trump’s takeover makes no mention of “outsider” causes for the sudden crime wave. [The only recent example of such violent incursion by “outsiders” was the January 6 Insurrection at the Capitol incited by Trump himself. Trump also took steps to criminalize homelessness and vulnerable persons with mental disorders, vowing to rid the city of vulnerable indigents. We must be mindful that Trump has not actually walked in the streets of DC since he has been in office, if ever. Nor have there been reports of any Trump Administration staff member being assaulted or robbed while in DC. Trump's “declaration” of an “emergency” because of a crime wave in DC is demonstrably contrived. It is not difficult to draw policy parallels to Hitler’s Nazi Germany purges of non-”Aryan” populations, in which Jews, people of color, homosexuals, and the mentally ill were either expelled or detained in concentration camps, with many being “exterminated” by firing squads or gas chambers. But let us turn from purpose to process. If the “true goal” of the Trump takeover were to restore “public safety,” then it would be incumbent to revisit what constitutes “public safety.” Such safety involves the actual and perceived sense of freedom from assault and intrusion into the persons and property of members of the public, and the reasonable absence of fear of such unwelcome and unwarranted intrusions. Such incursions and fear may be caused by other members of the public and in some cases may be caused by law enforcement personnel. The latter risks are supposed to be counterbalanced by established rules of due process and humane police procedures. In other words, the social contract provides that intrusions by police are to be permitted by police, but ONLY if done in accordance with due process procedures that protect the civil rights of members of the public. For example, a traffic stop or detention of an individual on the street may be permitted for purposes of “public safety” only if the police first clearly identify themselves and their authority and can articulate a specific crime or violation of the law upon which the incursion is based. We have seen documentation of police stops and interrogation of individuals without any demonstrable or articulable justification. In far too many cases, the initial encounter is prompted by internal bias and bigotry in the mind of the police officer leading to racial, religious or homophobic “profiling” which suggests to them that anyone with such characteristics “must” be engaged in unlawful or at least “suspicious” activity. The officers sometimes try to “create” a justification by making provocative statements or aggressive actions and then claiming that the person detained has been “uncooperative” or “resisting” police in performance of their lawful duties. Too often this police response to a manufactured confrontation escalates to arrest and injury to the detainee. Sometimes, but rarely, the officers are disciplined or even fired for such misconduct, but police unions typically cover up and whitewash officer misconduct. The introduction of mandatory police “body cams” intended to record and preserve evidence of their conduct, a constraint instituted because of the large body of evidence of officer misconduct and an attempt to regain some level of public trust, is only effective IF the officer has the camera operating when in action. Against this backdrop and history of police abuse of authority and misconduct, the second aspect of “public safety” must be evaluated, the absence of perceived threat to persons and property. Currently, DC residents seeking to walk the streets and go about daily activities are faced with, and often surrounded by, agents from hundreds [White House cites 400 and increasing] of armed persons from ICE, DEA, ATF, National Guard and other agencies in addition to DC Metropolitan police officers. National Guard members are soldiers untrained and totally inexperienced in local police procedures. Social media is rife with documentation of individuals without any criminal history and not engaged in any activity other than standing, sitting or walking, surrounded by three or more of these agents who confront, detain and escalate. In other examples, persons standing in public spaces video recording actions by the officers [a clear first amendment right] are confronted and sometimes assaulted or detained. Officers defensively claim that the person recording their activity is "interfering” with law enforcement activities, when the agent need only have ignored the bystander. Context: When George Floyd was murdered by a police officer abusing his authority, video recordings by onlookers served as a major source of evidence leading to the officer’s conviction. So, recording agent activity serves an important "public safety” purpose. Seeking to capitalize on this massive incursion and takeover of DC, Trump’s Administration has taken advantage of the old adage: “Numbers don’t lie; but you can do a lot of lying with numbers!” For example, AG Bondi recited a number of supposed “arrests” in DC since the introduction of federal agents. First, the documented history of misrepresentation by Bondi and the Trump Administration makes the reliance upon the cited number of arrests dubious. But even if accurate, the evidence of false and unjustified arrests by overzealous and untrained agents provides marginal confidence that such detentions represent any meaningful impact on “crime” in the city. Nor does the White House break down how many of those arrests were made by DC police doing their jobs as would have occurred without Trump’s involvement. In contrast to Trump claims that DC residents were “afraid to go out in public,” actual residents and business owners provide a very different story. They say that residents did go out in public less and businesses suffered AFTER the Trump takeover and huge influx of armed personnel, and only recently have begun to return to more normal activity once they adjusted to changing their routines and avoiding the presence of federal agent concentrations. So, Trump’s claim of a fearful hiding public was a lie and a hoax. Another aspect of this authoritarian “savior” meme and hoax being cast by Trump is the threat to take over other cities in America because of similar crime issues. This hoax is so superficial that it would be laughable, were he not serious about carrying his plan forward. Racist dog whistles of criminality by people of color are readily sucked up by Trump’s “base” which he needs to try to distract and recapture in light of the nagging issue of his involvement with Epstein, pedophilia, and sex trafficking. While his base often seems to have no moral compass at all, it seems that a line has been crossed by suspected Trump involvement with molestation and trafficking of underage girls procured by Maxwell and exploited by Epstein and his cabal. Trump’s long close history with Epstein, along with his own separate history of sexual assault, makes his involvement presumptive rather than just “possible.” So, his public and very demonstrative actions of sending federal agents and military troops to American cities run by Mayors who are POC and whose populations are heavily or predominantly POC is a performative act of "throwing red meat” to his base, another hoax. Trump has chosen DC primarily because his intemperate “invasion” of Los Angeles resulted in push back and rulings by judges that Trump exceeded his authority. The law against deployment of military for purposes of local law enforcement was breached because of the 10th amendment, which technically does not apply to DC which does not have statehood. He might make the same racist threats against Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia [all led by Mayors who are POC] but would face the same problem of the 10th amendment as in California, but now with the existence of judicial precedent to support the resolve of judges, including those threatened by Trump. Unfortunately, journalistic professionalism has been abandoned or compromised by Trump to the extent that true investigation and analysis is virtually absent. Either by making threats to Media company executives, or by revoking access to White House briefings, he has largely succeeded in stifling any media outlets publishing stories critical of Trump’s agenda. Instead of doing the job of investigative reporting, such media outlets resort only to publishing “news” of the rise of public backlash to Trump’s claims and actions. The resistance apparently must come from members of the public to try to protect and defend their own “public safety” from an arrogant narcissistic authoritarian president who disregards the Constitution, rule of law, and regard for members of the public.

Trump Takeover of DC - Plantation 2025

 If we are brutally honest, the Trump move to take control of Washington, DC law enforcement is a metaphorical modern day "lynching" serving as race-baiting and a distraction for his MAGA cult. Consider that the population of DC is 64% non-white and over 93% are US citizens [i.e. not an immigration problem] The actual violent crime rate is at an historic LOW and has been dropping steadily, so there is no ACTUAL public safety emergency. Unfortunately, DC is a vulnerable and relatively easy target for Trump's "plantation" style tactics. Nothing really NEEDs to be done to enhance law enforcement or violent crime reduction, but we will not have data to show that nothing was effectively done for months. Meanwhile the defamatory media rush will hang over DC and its government and be inflamed by Trump Administration rhetoric. The LAST person who should be entrusted with the public safety of a city, especially one populated primarily by people of color, is AG Pam Bondi. Her ethics, professionalism and racist mentality are disqualifying. as well as her slobbering subservience to Trump's every whim.

It is questionable whether the Posse Comitatus prohibition on using federal forces for local law enforcement applies because of DC's special non-state status. So, Trump declares an "emergency" and that the folks of color have created a "crime wave" making the city unsafe. As with most of Trump's pronouncements, there are no facts to support this race-baiting accusation. But his MAGA followers are eager to latch on to any form of bigotry and hate. It is an effective media distraction but terrible and shameful policy. JMO🧐

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/dc-mayor-responds-to-trump-s-federal-takeover-of-city-police-department/vi-AA1KkhED