US President Donald Trump said he is deploying 800 National Guard soldiers to Washington, DC, and taking control of its police department after claiming that crime was “out of control” in the capital city.

The nation’s capital is “becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness,” Trump said at an August 11 news conference as he invoked the Home Rule Act to take federal control of the city.

“Washington, DC, should be one of the safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world, and we’re going to make it that.”

But many of the details Trump cited do not stand up to scrutiny.

Trump’s actions are a step towards making good on his threat of a federal takeover of the district after carjackers severely beat a former Department of Government Efficiency employee.

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