The Trump administration’s push to enforce a controversial executive order “Make D.C. Safe Again,” has sparked outrage among residents, community leaders, and legal advocates in the District following an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office charging 18 individuals — all of them Black men — with federal firearms violations in March alone.
Interim U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., appointed under President Donald Trump’s return to power, announced the surge in prosecutions as part of the administration’s law-and-order agenda focused on harsher penalties and transferring local gun possession cases to federal court.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is continuing its work to Make D.C. Safe Again by aggressively prosecuting violent offenders, adopting eligible Superior Court cases into District Court, and coordinating federal and local resources,” Martin said in a statement. “Our efforts directly support the president’s executive order to restore law and order in the District.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Metropolitan Police Department are key partners in the initiative. ATF Washington Field Division Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood declared, “We remain steadfast in our mission of fighting violent crime in D.C.”
However, critics point out that none of the 18 individuals charged last month were accused of committing violent crimes. Instead, the cases include arrests stemming from traffic stops and street encounters in neighborhoods like Southeast and Logan Circle.
In one case, a man was arrested after officers claimed a gun fell from his pocket as he walked away from a liquor store. Another was apprehended after running from police while smoking marijuana. A separate case involved three men arrested in a vehicle containing red Solo cups, an open bottle of tequila, and firearms.
Defense attorneys and residents have raised serious concerns about racial targeting and the broader implications of moving cases from local court to federal court. This change allows for harsher sentences and eliminates access to D.C.’s Youth Rehabilitation Act. That Act provides first-time offenders under 25 with an opportunity for lighter sentencing and the chance to have their records sealed after completing their sentence.
“This crackdown is locking up only young Black men,” veteran D.C. attorney Heather Shaner said in a published report. “I’m just so sick of seeing these young men being stopped, and a gun is found in the car with each of these kids, and yet the cops had no reason to go into the car. Or an officer thinks he sees a bulge and stops and frisks them. They’re driving while Black or walking while Black.”
According to data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, D.C.’s federal court averaged just four firearms-related sentences per month from 2014 through 2023 — 93% of them Black individuals. The 18 charged in March under the Trump administration’s executive order mark more than double the usual number.
Community members say the initiative mirrors a 2020 effort that also disproportionately impacted Black neighborhoods in the District. At a recent community meeting hosted by the Anacostia Coordinating Council, Martin faced pointed questions and audible frustration from more than 200 residents gathered in Southeast D.C.
Lamont Mitchell, chairman of the Council, called on Martin and federal law enforcement to go after gun suppliers instead of neighborhood residents.
“We have a plethora of gun violence in this city and in our community, yes,” Mitchell said. “But what are you planning to do to intervene with these gun shipments?”
So far, there has been no indication the Trump administration or the U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to shift the focus away from individual possession cases, particularly those involving previously convicted felons — even though some of those targeted say they carry guns for protection in high-crime areas.
“But the guns don’t protect them,” said Shaner. “They just get them locked up.”
Yet black are 13% of the population, but committ the majority of crime.♂️
This is old hat; the residents that are concerned about the lack of governance and racial profiling have the same responsibility to maintain and have hands off approach to crime in their neighborhoods! Before and during the Civil Rights Act, it was a standard for citizens to be the voice/acts of reason in their community or else the racial inequity w/in the justice system would prevail. We can’t be “in it but not of it.” With the same concern hearts, we need to focus on the fundamentals of respect for life, protecting our homes no matter where they are located. Sending a clear message that crime and violence will not be tolerated where we live, play and sleep! Now if that cannot be done amongst “us” what do you expect to happen? There is so much to cover on this topic, there is no one right answer for hundreds of issues that plague the black/brown community.