September 12, 2025

Over the weekend, tens of thousands of protesters marched from Malcolm X Park to the White House in a demonstration of local opposition to Trumpist occupation and Bowser’s puppet regime. The wide affair produced striking imagery and demonstrated the power of the coordinated Popular Front mobilized against the occupation that has been terrorizing residents over the past month.

Mass public opposition to the occupation appears to be working in deterring expanded control over DC. As of Thursday, Trump’s control over the police department officially expired. Trump previously floated extending federal control, but as of Thursday his official seizure of the police department has expired — under the Home Rule Act, Trump would technically need an authorization from the House and Senate to extend control for more than 30 days. Massive national coverage and local mobilization against the regime, including instances of the public accosting of Trump, has almost certainly soured the Orange Emperor’s appetite for continued control.

Although the Metropolitan Police Department is no longer reporting formally to Trump, the transformation of “Mayor” Bowser into a Trump collaborationist leaves MPD under effective fascist control. ICE and the Federal Gestapo will also still be operating in the city, and will likely continue informal coordination with MPD. An investigation published in Bellingcat this week demonstrates how ICE and federal law enforcement exploit MPD’s ambivalence and quiet submissiveness to conduct their raids and jump-out programming. The National Guard deployment is expected to continue past October.

DC is still also under threat from Congress, which is considering thirteen bills designed to further subordinate DC autonomy. One of which would prevent residents from electing their own Attorney General; the current Attorney General, Brian Schwalb, has used his office to go after landlords, wage theft, and other corporate plots, and has openly defended DC from Trumpist rule. Additional bills would reduce restrictions on police, end no-cash bail, and expand prison sentencing for youth and young adults. These demands aren’t rogue requests from Congress, but are in fact demands from the extortion racket calling itself the ‘DC police union,’ who have eagerly invited and exploited federal takeover of the city. Mayor Bowser and the DC Council have been unwilling to challenge the shakedown, allowing MPD to raid public coffers in provisioning officers a raise of over 13% in the upcoming year.

Trump has threatened DC-style invasions of Chicago and Baltimore, but deep resistance from Chicago Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker appears to have given Trump cold feet, looking instead to red-state cities that will more easily buckle to his whims. If Trump truly backs down, the sustained resistance of DC’s working class will have played a crucial role.

Metro DC DSA is continuing resistance coordination efforts. The chapter is organizing members to conduct patrols in ICE hotspots to make sure eyes and ears and on the streets. Metro DC DSA members, and locals interested in getting involved, can sign-up for vetting using this link.