The administration’s own books did not contain the crime data he referenced. According to FBI crime numbers released last week, violent crime has decreased nationwide, including in the cities the president has designated as hazardous.
Anthony Kreiss, a constitutional law professor at Georgia State University, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday that Trump’s plan to seize control of the D.C. police force is constrained by the D.C. Home Rule Act, which permits the president to do so for a maximum of 30 days, for federal purposes in an emergency. Additionally, Kreiss pointed out that Atlanta and no other American city are covered by the home rule statute, which restricts Trump’s ability to increase his influence here.
Kreiss said that the federal government cannot force municipal and state officials to carry out the president’s wishes, saying that constitutionally speaking, he cannot do in Atlanta or any other place what he is doing in D.C. According to Kreiss, the federal government is not involved in street policing in America.
Thanks to AP
Thanks to AP
During a campaign event last year, Trump called Atlanta a “killing field” and previously lambasted the city’s high crime rates. Atlanta has experienced a greater decrease in homicides this year than the rest of the nation.
As of July, homicides had decreased by 25% compared to 2024, while overall crime had decreased by 8%.
A request for comment on Monday was not answered by the Atlanta Police Department.
Regarding Trump’s proposal to station National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Sen. Jon Ossoff said it violated some of the most important and cherished constitutional tenets.
According to Ossoff, people don’t enlist in the US military to patrol American communities. That ought to be reserved for the very last.
According to Eric Segall, a professor at Georgia State College of Law, the administration seems to be making a conscious effort to declare everything an emergency, which might grant the federal government authority it wouldn’t typically have.
By, for instance, utilizing the military domestically when there isn’t an emergency, this president is, in my judgment, consolidating authority in the executive branch in ways that are quite different, Segall stated.
Trump has before sent National Guard soldiers to a major American city.In reaction to rallies against immigration, about 700 active duty Marines and 4,000 National Guard soldiers were deployed to Los Angeles in late June.
Whether or not the Trump administration broke federal law by sending troops to Los Angeles is the subject of a trial that began Monday in California. Segall believes that neither the court’s decision nor any other decision will significantly alter how the Trump administration addresses issues of crime and immigration.
According to Kreiss, unless there is a real attempt to topple the government and spread chaos and anarchy that puts everyone in danger, the government cannot simply federalize the National Guard and have it carry out civilian enforcement.
If not, the president cannot simply federalize the National Guard to take control of local police enforcement. According to Kreiss, that would be a complete misuse of the legislation.
