WASHINGTON, DC — Washington, D.C. is under federal occupation. 
This is not normal. 
This is not acceptable. 
And I will not pretend otherwise. 

Masked agents are snatching people off the streets into unmarked cars. 
Parents are disappearing while their children are left behind, terrified. 
Workers are staying home out of fear, wondering how they will provide for their families. 
Immigrants and homeless neighbors are being hunted in their own city. 

This is not public safety. 
This is oppression. 

The President has declared Washington, D.C., his testing ground for a national authoritarian playbook. Today, there are more than 2,200 National Guard troops patrolling our city . Trump has already pointed to D.C. as his proof point and announced plans to export these tactics to Baltimore and Chicago . At the same time, members of Congress are introducing bills to codify his takeover of our police force . 

And yet, instead of standing with our residents against this occupation, some members of our local government have chosen to cooperate. Yesterday, the Mayor signed an executive order requiring D.C. agencies — including MPD — to coordinate with federal forces “to the maximum extent allowable by law,” with no end date . 

This is not a strategy. 
It is a surrender. 

I understand why some people want to give the Mayor a pass. We all know the limits of Home Rule and the impossible choices D.C. leaders face. But there is only so much “playing nice” before you stop protecting the city and start offering it up on a platter. History is clear: appeasing an authoritarian has never protected those under occupation. It has only ever emboldened the oppressor. 

We have reached that point. 

Every day this continues, Trump grows stronger. His narrative grows louder. And our own ability to fight back — in Congress, in the streets, and in our communities — grows weaker. 

You cannot claim to stand up for residents while publicly validating the very tactics that are terrorizing them. 

You cannot call for national solidarity while giving Trump the permission slip he is now using to send his forces into other cities. 

Trump’s federalization of MPD means our local police are now being directed to support federal operations, including ICE crackdowns. MPD leadership has avoided answering directly whether they are participating in immigration enforcement, but they have confirmed they are “supporting the ask of our federal partners” under the President’s order . 

That means residents cannot be sure who will respond if they call 911 — and whether that call might expose them or their neighbors to ICE. This erosion of trust is dangerous and deliberate. It is why transparency and clear limits are essential. D.C. may be legally required not to obstruct federal orders, but that does not mean we must voluntarily deepen our involvement or hide from residents what is happening in their city. 

I am calling on residents to join me in demanding action to protect our city and our democracy. We must rescind the Mayor’s executive order that authorizes indefinite, maximum coordination with federal forces. We must require full transparency, including daily public reports on federal deployments, arrests, detentions, and use of force — and we must publish all directives that govern local–federal operations so residents know exactly what is happening in their city. We must draw bright lines that bar MPD from any voluntary participation in immigration enforcement and require a clear public accounting of what interactions are legally required. We must fight to defend Home Rule by opposing any effort to codify Trump’s takeover and by supporting litigation to challenge this federal overreach. And we must build real safety — the kind rooted in trust, not fear — by investing in proven community strategies that protect our families without ceding control of our city. 

To our residents: I see what you are living through. 
I see the children walking past rifles outside a Spirit soccer game. 
I see the fear of calling 911 when you don’t know who will show up. 
I see the courage of neighbors who are organizing and demanding dignity in the face of fear. 

To the nation: understand this — what happens here will echo everywhere. If this can happen in D.C., it can happen in your city next. 

We must stop normalizing this. 
We must stop cooperating with it. 

And we must tell the truth: Washington, D.C. is under siege — and silence is complicity. 

I will not be silent. 
I will not bow to fear. 
I will not surrender our city — or our democracy.