By Keya Chatterjee
When we ask a room full of people in Washington, D.C., how many have seen a gang of masked agents from multiple agencies either kidnap or attempt to kidnap a neighbor, about a third of the people in room raises their hands. When we ask how many have seen armed soldiers at a voting location, near a school, or on the metro, everyone raises their hands.
Few people, even in D.C., know that the so-called “DC Safe and Beautiful Taskforce” drove the uptick of the gangs of federal agents and the thousands of soldiers supporting them. More than a dozen governors sent those soldiers. The governors command those guard troops, and the Joint Task Force directs them to be armed and patrolling D.C. streets.
Last week, voters across the United States repudiated the killing, kidnapping, and corruption of this regime. Votes continue to be counted in Alaska and Kansas (and other states for the Senate and House), but the results already show a massive turnover in governorships. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth answered that verdict by doubling down. Leaked memos describe an escalation against the people of D.C. with military police vehicles, boats, and rifles.
Military vehicles have already cost a D.C. life. When they rolled through for the military parade that Trump threw for his birthday last year, they ran over and killed a houseless neighbor in D.C. Pedestrians die under military vehicles overseas regularly. These vehicles do not belong in urban environments. Much like with the incidents overseas, there was never an apology here in D.C. There was never any accountability.
On top of that, thousands of soldiers occupy luxury apartments in D.C., pushing up housing costs during an economic crisis. War, tariffs, and mass illegal firings of federal workers, including whole sectors of workers focused on international development and diversity, equity and inclusion, helped cause that crisis in D.C.
Neighbors have paid in blood and dignity. U.S. Marshals shot D.C. dad Julian Bailey multiple times in the back in February 2025. National Guard members from Idaho assaulted Anna King at her home. National Guard from Mississippi detained Davey Hearn, who was charged for vandalism for merely touching the water in the Reflecting Pool after Donald Trump’s botched renovation.
Our D.C. elected officials have unanimously asked that these governors and remove their guard troops from D.C. Every guard member could be home for the holidays this year, ready to serve their own states, which is what they signed up to do.
This deployment has run more than 450 days and will cost taxpayers more than $1.4 billion. That money could have funded summer jobs for teenagers, mental healthcare, violence interrupters, and housing support — investments that build lasting safety in a neighborhood. The District is already safe and beautiful, and the president himself stood at the Lincoln Memorial last week and said so, undercutting the pretext Hegseth and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller use for the military occupation of D.C.
The good news is that newly elected governors from Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Alaska, Florida, and more hold the power to answer the call from the people of D.C. to remove their armed guard members from our schools, our Metro, our sidewalks, and our waterways.
To the newly elected governors of Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Alaska, Florida, and beyond: Your guard members have families, jobs, and communities waiting for them at home. Honor their service by returning them to the work they know, responding to floods, fires, and emergencies in your own states. Bring them home.
To our new Members of Congress: The 700,000 D.C. residents, a majority of them people of color, have waited generations for full democracy. The January 6, 2021, insurrection, the killings and kidnappings by the federal surge force, and the assaults and detentions by the National Guard show what happens when our city lacks control over its own security. Pass the D.C. statehood bill, HR 51, for the third time. This would put the D.C. Guard under the authority of D.C.’s elected leadership and limit the federal enclave to the areas around the White House, the Capitol, and the National Mall.
Jim Crow maps and federal interference demand our resistance. End the occupation. End taxation without representation. Bring home the troops and let D.C. govern DC.
Keya Chatterjee is executive director of Free DC.