WASHINGTON — One year after President Donald Trump began his mission to “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful” again, the nation’s capital is noticeably cleaner and safer.
The president declared a crime emergency on August 11 of last year and launched a federal surge soon afterward as part of his “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.” Trump was determined to clean up the streets and monuments of the city and to put criminals behind bars, spurred on by the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a Capitol Hill intern.
Washington is not the same place it was a year ago. As of August 2026, the city’s fountains are running again. Graffiti is cleaned off most major monuments. National Guardsmen stroll the streets and chat with tourists and families.
“This has been the largest, most aggressive law enforcement collaboration ever assembled to confront crime in a major American city,” the U.S. Marshals shared in a press release, describing how “federal, state, and local law enforcement” stood “shoulder to shoulder with the National Guard, refusing to accept violence as the status quo in Washington, D.C.”
(Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Trump’s efforts to clean up D.C. resulted in over 16,000 arrests, the U.S. Marshals shared. Thirty-five homicide suspects were apprehended, and authorities found 25 missing children and returned them to their homes. Authorities took more than 100 gang members off the streets and made more than 3,200 narcotics arrests. They also seized almost 2,000 illegal firearms.
Newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche described the Justice Department’s efforts, in collaboration with their law enforcement partners, as “extraordinary.”
“More than 16,000 arrests, thousands of illegal drugs and firearms taken off the streets, and dangerous violent offenders brought to justice mean safer neighborhoods and lives protected,” he said in a statement. “We will not relent until every community in Washington, D.C., is safe.”
In September 2025, the task force tracked down two suspects in Tarpinian-Jachym’s killing, 17-year-old Jailen Lucas and 17-year-old Kelvin Thomas, as well as a third suspect, 18-year-old Naqwan Lucas, who was apprehended in October 2025. Lucas was also charged with the murder of 17-year-old Zoey Kelley.
The task force additionally arrested 19-year-old Laurence Cotton-Powell and 18-year-old Anthony Taylor for violently attacking and beating a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer.
(Photo by Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)
And in January, the task force captured three confirmed MS-13 gang members who were wanted on first-degree murder warrants for shooting a 14-year-old boy in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
“This operation shows the relentless dedication we have to investigate and apprehend the most violent, dangerous fugitives,” Gadyaces S. Serralta, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, shared in a statement. “When law enforcement works together, the impact is exponential. The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force is proof of that the whole-of-government approach works.”
Two National Guardsmen were ambushed while they were serving under the task force. On November 26, 2025, a shooter targeted Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe of the West Virginia Air National Guard and Army National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. Beckstrom was killed by the gunman, while Wolfe continues to recover from his wounds.
“Sgt. Sarah Beckstrom gave the last full measure of devotion, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe endured a profound sacrifice in service to others,” said Brigadier General Leland D. Blanchard II, Commanding General (Interim) of the District of Columbia National Guard. “Their courage will forever be part of this mission’s legacy. We honor them by carrying the work forward -united in purpose, steadfast in service, and committed to protect the people of Washington, D.C.”
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