The D.C. chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is considering taking legal action to stop the federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department.

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order placing MPD under federal control.

In the days since, hundreds of federal officers have fanned out across the District to combat what the president said was “out of control crime,” despite local and federal statistics suggesting that is not the case.

“From the outset, this blatant political theater of ‘there is an emergency for crime’ was false,” said ACLU D.C. Executive Director Monica Hopkins. “It was just an exercise in abuse of power.”

At issue is whether Trump can change the organizational structure of the police department.

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