President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Washington, DC, police set off a scramble across the city Monday, as the federal government made an unprecedented move to control local law enforcement operations in the nation’s capital.

The decision to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department and activate hundreds of National Guard troops came as Trump painted a dystopian portrait of DC that allies say is shaped by the president’s frustration with anecdotal reports of crime and homelessness. The city’s statistics show a sustained, multiyear decline in violent offenses, though public perceptions of crime are often out of step with data.

It marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between Trump and DC officials, who had sought for months to maintain a delicate peace with the White House.

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