President Donald Trump on Monday said he is placing the Washington, D.C. , police department under federal control and deploying 800 National Guard troops in order to address what he claims is out-of-control crime in the capital city.

The move — which marks the first time in history that a president has federalized the district's police force — was met with fierce condemnation from local officials, who quickly noted that official statistics show crime is on the decline.

Trump unveiled the action after describing the city in apocalyptic terms.

"I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor, and worse," Trump declared at the start of a lengthy news conference in the White House press briefing room.

"This is Liberation Da

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