Washington officials rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to take over the city’s police department, and have now sued to stop what they characterized as a grave threat to the city.

On Thursday night, Attorney General Pam Bondi named Drug Enforcement Agency head Terry Cole as “emergency police commissioner” and ordered him to take over the capital’s police department. Bondi’s actions were the latest escalation by President Donald Trump, who has sent armed federal agents to Washington to combat a purported increase in crime, which the data does not support.

In response, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sent a legal opinion to D.C. police chief Pamela Smith, describing Bondi’s order as “unlawful” and told her she and her department are “not legally obligated to follow it.”

“In r

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