More than 200 people gathered in front of the old Frank Reeves Municipal Center on Monday to protest the Trump administration’s federal takeover of the District of Columbia and MPD.

Free D.C. — a nonprofit whose mission is securing self-determination for the District — hosted the event at 14th and U streets, N.W. Speakers from several community organizations addressed the crowd, arguing that the takeover harms the city more than it helps.

Keya Chatterjee, executive director of Free D.C., was among the first to speak. She said the administration’s actions represent a blatant overreach of federal power, motivated by partisanship rather than public safety.

“Since last week, Trump has sent federal law enforcement agents into our neighborhoods, made our police start turning people over to ICE, sent in our local National Guard and attempted to put our local police department under federal control,” Chatterjee told reporters and protesters. “Today, he has sent in armed National Guard from three additional states.”

By Tuesday morning, six states had pledged to send troops. All are governed by Republicans, contributing anywhere from 150 to 400 National Guard members each. Together, more than 1,000 out-of-state troops are now expected to patrol the District.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry pledged 150 troops; West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said he would send between 300 and 400; South Carolina Gov. Henry Dargan McMaster pledged 200; Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said his state would send 150; Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee committed about 160; and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves pledged 200.

Chatterjee was not alone in criticizing the presence of non-D.C. officers. Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center said the money spent deploying troops could instead be used to house people experiencing homelessness — many of whom, he argued, the administration is targeting for removal.

“According to estimates, it costs over $420,000 a day to deploy the D.C. Guard,” Rabinowitz said. “That number does not factor in the Guard troops now invading from West Virginia, Ohio and South Carolina. But just using this D.C. cost — $420,000 a day — tells an important story. It costs $47,000 a year to get somebody off the street and into housing for one year. For one day of D.C. Guard activation, we could solve homelessness for nine people.”

He added that the clearances are designed for optics, not solutions.

“On Thursday night, over 30 federal police officers from the FBI, Secret Service and Homeland Security gathered near a few tents in Foggy Bottom. They didn’t come offering housing or support. They came with their guns and lights flashing.”

“The solution to homelessness is housing,” he continued. “The solution to authoritarianism is solidarity.”

Kelsye Adams, director of D.C. Vote and Long Live Go-Go, also condemned the use of the U Street corridor as a staging ground for federal forces.

“For the first time in history, a president seized control of our local government,” Adams told the crowd, which booed loudly in response. “He stripped away local authority unlawfully as our AG got out there and filled our streets with over 800 National Guard troops from other states, federal agents, including ICE, FBI … And where did they land? Right here on U Street, on Black Broadway in the middle of our door.”

“They call it public safety, but here’s the truth: crime is down in D.C.,” she continued, citing Department of Justice data ignored by the administration. “This is the lowest that violent crime has been in D.C. in the past 30 years … If crime is down, why all the troops? Why ICE? Why remove the unhoused? Why checkpoints and why say this is about safety? Let’s be real. This is a fascist takeover.”

Adams stressed that Black and brown children living around U Street are bearing the brunt of the militarization.

“Children should not feel like suspects for simply living; our young people deserve joy, safety and dignity, not militarization.”

Nee Nee Taylor, organizing director of Free D.C., echoed that message, pointing to the long history of police targeting youth of color.

“Black and brown people, we are not safe,” Taylor said. “We are in a state of emergency right now. We are being watched. We are being targeted, and it’s not safe to walk alone.”

“They want to drag us back to the days of Emmett Till and Jim Crow, but hear me clearly — we’re going to resist. We’re going to show up. We’re going to take up space, we’re not going to comply, and we’re going to send joy while we’re doing it.”

“Safety cannot be manufactured through fear. Let me say that again: safety cannot be manufactured.”

A representative from Colectivo Familias Migrantes, a civil society group focused on human rights and democratic rule of law in the Americas, told the crowd that incidents of undocumented people being scooped up in unmarked cars by masked agents are part of a broader plan to continue policing Black and brown people in D.C. — regardless of their immigration status.

“These are not coincidences. These are strategically placed and targeted to bring fear and panic, all while building a disgusting narrative that continues to criminalize our bodies every single day.”

“We demand that all federal forces leave now,” she added.

Rach “Coach” Pike, co-owner of the queer bar As You Are in Southeast D.C., told the Blade they attended the event to show solidarity and to stress the importance of LGBTQ awareness.

“I think it has more to do with location and who they’re targeting, which are Black and brown communities, communities that are unhoused. So I think it’s more about that than queer people — at least for now. Queers aren’t the focus yet.”

As a business owner, Pike said their priority is supporting those being directly targeted by the administration — and encouraging other businesses to do the same.

“I just encourage business owners, mostly to be on the street, help with the resources they can communicate and get information out to people, and push people toward our amazing D.C. organizers, because they’re the ones we need to follow right now.”

“Being out here with our people and amongst like-mindedness is really important to kind of get your energy up,” Pike added. “I wouldn’t say I feel any better — it’s all bullshit — but I feel surrounded, wrapped up, covered. Like I’m getting more information to help cover other people. You know, we got to keep us safe.”

Since Aug. 11, when President Donald Trump invoked Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, there has been an increased federal presence of all kinds in D.C. From FBI agents loitering outside well-known LGBTQ hotspots to National Guard members disseminated across the National Mall, law enforcement presence is at an all-time high in Washington.

This marks the first time Section 740 of the Home Rule Act has been used since Home Rule’s establishment in 1973, which granted D.C. the right to govern itself (following congressional approval.) This section outlines how the president can direct the mayor to provide Metropolitan Police Department forces for federal purposes under “special circumstances of an emergency nature.”

Trump has argued this takeover of Washington is justified in his executive order declaring a crime emergency in the District of Columbia, saying multiple times that crime in the capital has left “bloodthirsty criminals” on the streets. Trump went on in the order to make blanket statements about the murder rate in D.C. while citing outdated homicide rates from 2023.

According to the Trump administration, those 2023 numbers validate the federal government’s overreach into D.C. politics, despite Department of Justice statistics showing the nation’s capital is at a “violent crime thirty-year low,” and MPD data showing a 26 percent decrease in violent crime from last year.

Trump had, up until yesterday, used the Drug Enforcement Administration head as an “acting police chief” to get MPD to clear homeless encampments and create police checkpoints for drivers in D.C. After D.C. Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the administration for its attempt to circumvent the actual police chief, the Justice Department removed the DEA head as provisional leader of MPD and instead made them act as an intermediary between the administration and police.

Despite this forced change of reinstating Smith, Trump will continue to have control over MPD for 30 days after he enacted Section 740. This means law enforcement of all types will still carry out Trump’s commands, including ramping up deportations, arrests, and stops within the District.

The Washington Blade spoke with Monica Hopkins, the executive director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia, to discuss how LGBTQ people — both documented and undocumented — can stay safe as the administration continues to control law enforcement.

“I think it’s really important to understand your basic rights,” Hopkins told the Blade on Friday. “No matter what your identity, you have certain rights.”

These rights, Hopkins explains, can protect you — but only if you know what they are and how to use them.

“You have the right to remain silent, but you must verbally invoke this right. So you have to say, ‘I’m invoking my right to be silent,’ or ‘I want to be silent.’

If stopped by police,” she says, “you should ask, ‘Am I free to leave?’ If the answer is yes, then you should walk away calmly. If the answer is no, ask, ‘Am I under arrest?’”

“You can refuse a search of yourself or your belongings,” the 17-year veteran of the ACLU explained. “You may be patted down for weapons, but beyond that, you can refuse a search of yourself or your belongings. This includes, if an officer says, ‘Will you empty your pockets?’ You can refuse.”

Even as MPD is effectively being directed by federal requests, Hopkins explained there is a difference in rights when it comes to legal consultation if stopped by police versus U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“If you are stopped by the D.C. police, you have the right to an attorney,” Hopkins said. “If you are stopped by ICE, you have the right to consult with an attorney, and you can also request a list of free and low-cost legal help.”

In addition to knowing the rights everyone has, understanding the correct way law enforcement can enter a premises is also crucial for ensuring safety in both residential and commercial spaces.

“Immigration officers must have permission from the owner or the manager to conduct a raid on a workplace. If officers come in, the business owner can say, ‘I don’t give you permission to be here. You need to leave. I’m asking you to leave the property. This is my business. Please leave.’ If the officers do not have permission from the owner or the manager, they must have a warrant that is signed by a federal judge or a magistrate [to enter].”

Just having a piece of paper that an officer claims is a warrant is not enough, Hopkins explained. Request the warrant and look over it to ensure it is (1) for the correct space and (2) signed by the right person.

“Look at those warrants very, very carefully and who has signed them,” she said. “It has to be a federal judge or a magistrate. It can’t be another ICE agent. It can’t be the Metropolitan Police Department. That warrant has to be signed by a federal judge or a magistrate.”

In addition to knowing rights in D.C., having a plan in case law enforcement does come is the next step to ensuring safety.

“I think in these times, currently having these conversations now and saying, ‘What if this happens? What is my plan?’ And planning it, not when you’re in a situation trying to come up with a plan, but before,” she said. “It gives you the space to say, ‘Okay, what are my rights?’”

Hopkins pointed out that there are abundant resources available on the ACLU-DC’s website that can help all kinds of people understand their rights and establish a plan. There are spotlight guides that outline what to do in specific situations, like “Preparing for ICE Raids,” “Legal Support and Resources on Arrest, Detention, and Deportation,” and even LGBTQ specific resources like “Your D.C. Protections from Harassment.” It’s all free and accessible on the ACLU-DC’s website.

When asked how D.C. residents can properly protest actions by ICE and other law enforcement, she offered some pointers.

“You are allowed to film the police from a safe distance. You are allowed to protest. You are allowed to go out in public. You are allowed to yell at the police — you are not allowed to attack the police. It is not your right to physically attack the police or throw things. That may cross the line, and there may be consequences — those aren’t your guaranteed rights under the Constitution [as part of the right] to exercise your First Amendment rights of protesting, demonstrating.”

Hopkins explained that in addition to educating people about their rights, the ACLU-DC is specifically going into the Capitol and talking with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to attempt to curtail any potential restriction of rights — especially as the Trump administration gears up to get Congress to allow continued control of District law enforcement.

“Our attention has been turned sort of on Congress. And we are having meetings with congressional staff explaining to them the intricacies of D.C. and D.C. home rule and why they should view this overreach and abuse of power by the president as just a trial balloon that you know this administration will undoubtedly try to enact across the country.”

As the interview drew to a close, Hopkins wanted to reemphasize that knowing your rights is at the crux of staying safe.

“I think that living in the District of Columbia right now, what I have heard from folks is that there’s a lot of fear and anxiety right now. But also that we live in this amazing, beautiful, joyous city. The best thing that we can do to keep ourselves safe, keep our neighbors safe, and keep our friends safe is to know your rights and stay connected to organizations that can provide services and help and you pass along information.”

Note: There are a multitude of resources on the ACLU-DC’s website. Information on LGBTQ rights, immigration rights, protesting rights, and abortion rights is available for free.

Funding for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs has been cut by $600,000, from $2.3 million in the current 2025 fiscal year to $1.7 million for fiscal year 2026, according to a statement released by the office.

The statement says the office’s fiscal year 2026 funding “maintains key LGBTQIA+ programs originally proposed by Mayor Bowser and builds on FY25.”

Both the mayor and the city’s chief financial officer have noted that a significant drop in tax revenue due to President Donald Trump’s sweeping reduction in the D.C. area federal workforce and a decision by Congress earlier this year to cut the city’s current FY 2025 budget by $1.1 billion would require the city to make across the board budget cuts.

Bowser has since invoked a little-known federal law that gives D.C. the authority to spend an amount of its own funds without congressional approval that would reduce the impact of the congressional budget cut from $1.1 billion to $410 million. But the mayor and city officials have said that the smaller reduction along with the decline in tax revenue would still require cuts in city programs.

According to the office’s statement, the cut in the LGBTQ Affairs Office budget will not reduce the number of the office’s six full-time employees. And she said the office will continue managing 110 Housing Choice Vouchers, which provide apartment rental support for low-income residents.

The statement says the funding reduction would result in a cutback in funding for “special projects,” including the Black LGBTQ History Preservation Commission, which was created by a law passed last year by the D.C. Council. Among other things, the commission and a committee created by the law are preparing a detailed report on the history of the Black LGBTQ community in D.C.

“Funding for the Violence Prevention and Response Team (VPART) and LGBTQIA+ Cultural Humility Trainings remain intact and annual grant funding, approximately $1 million, was also preserved,” the statement says. 

“Mayor Bowser remains firmly committed to all communities in D.C., and this budget reflects her continued support for programs that ensure residents can live safe, healthy, and affirmed lives,” the statement adds. 

It notes that the LGBTQ cultural training program is intended mostly for housing providers and “first responders,” and covers LGBTQ-related issues such as health disparities, legal protections, and inclusive workplace practices. It says the trainings have been performed under contract with outside organizations, including the LGBTQ support organizations Whitman-Walker Health and SMYAL

The Office of the D.C. Chief Financial Officer, which prepares the full written D.C. budget document, including funding amounts for all city agencies and programs, had not yet released the budget document as of late Thursday. The Blade will be reviewing that document upon its release to determine funding levels for a wide variety of other LGBTQ-related programs advocated for by the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition.