Federal law enforcement agents deployed by President Donald Trump arrested an apparently drunken man after he threw a sandwich at them on Monday night, again highlighting the absurdity of Trump’s response to crime in Washington, D.C.
In a video that has gone viral, a man in a pink shirt yelled at federal officers to protest their presence in the nation’s capital, repeatedly calling them “fascists.” He then threw a sub sandwich at one of the officers, who then chased and arrested him.
To be sure, it is a bad idea to throw food at law enforcement—but it also isn’t the sort of offense that requires such a response from federal agents. The arrest echoed the actions of the Trump-enabled agents, who on Sunday night responded en masse to a fender bender in Washington.
Trump has lied and claimed that crime in D.C. is on the increase. But in January, the FBI revealed that violent crime had declined under former President Joe Biden in 2024 and was at a more than 30-year low.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, whose district is in neighboring Maryland, took Trump and other Republicans to task for their cynical approach to crime in an appearance on CNN on Monday.
“If he really cared about public safety in D.C., he would release the billion dollars he has held up—and the Republicans have held up—in funding for the local budget. That's all local money that they've put a hold on,” Raskin said.
The capital has plenty of police and did not need the federal incursion. In fact, Washington has 4.7 police officers for every 1,000 residents—more than any other major American city, according to FBI data.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference on Aug. 11.
But Trump, a noted racist, has been focused on exploiting a city with a majority Black population led by Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Black woman. Trump similarly deployed federal forces to Los Angeles in June. That city also has a large minority population and is also led by a Black woman, Mayor Karen Bass.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration has been putting together plans for future armed incursions of American cities. They are planning to create a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force,” which would use National Guard troops to crush protests and usurp the sovereignty of cities.
Trump and his allies at right-wing outlets like Fox News have frequently demonized cities, which typically have their large minority populations and have historically been a key source of political support for the Democratic Party.
The decision to now use the military and other federal law enforcement to attack those cities runs directly counter to decades of conservative complaints about federal power. Under previous Democratic presidents, like Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Biden, the right pushed conspiracy after conspiracy of an armed takeover that never materialized.
However, under Trump, that reality is coming true. And yet the right is perfectly okay with it—as long as areas where minorities live are the ones that are being targeted.
