Trump Restores Federal Death Penalty As Pirro Touts Crime Drop In D.C.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Thursday credited President Donald J. Trump’s law enforcement surge with driving major reductions in violent crime across the nation’s capital, even as some residents voiced concerns about federal enforcement tactics and harsher sentencing policies.
Speaking at a 3rd District Citizens Advisory Council forum, which represents neighborhoods including Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Shaw, and Logan Circle, Pirro outlined what she called dramatic gains since Trump’s intervention. According to her office, homicides have dropped 53%, robberies are down 59%, and violent crime overall has declined between 39% and 40%.
“No one can deny that crime has gone down,” Pirro told the community. “That there is a deterrent effect. That people are not as willing to shoot, carjack, or stab. And by the way, do you know what’s up? Stabbings, because we’re taking the guns away.”
Despite the encouraging statistics, some residents pushed back, arguing that federal enforcement has been too heavy-handed. A number wore “Free DC” shirts, and one attendee had to be removed after a confrontation.
“It’s like we’re walking in two different cities,” resident Athena Viscusi said. “She’s seeing some city of lawless people that need to be yanked off the streets, and I see a city of people who are trying to go about their lives, take their kids to school, do their jobs and are being yanked off the streets.”
Critics argue crime had already begun to fall before Trump’s federal surge. Still, the administration has kept additional resources in place even after the city’s crime emergency expired. Prosecutors have dismissed nearly a dozen surge-related cases, according to the Associated Press.
The meeting came the same day President Trump signed an executive order reinstating the federal death penalty, reversing Joe Biden’s moratorium. The order directs federal prosecutors—including Pirro in Washington—to pursue capital punishment “to the maximum extent practicable” in death-eligible cases, especially for homicides and the killing of police officers.
“If you kill somebody, or if you kill a police officer, you should know what the punishment is,” Trump said at the Oval Office signing.
While the District of Columbia abolished capital punishment in 1981, federal law still allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The Justice Department is now weighing whether to do so in the high-profile case of two Israeli Embassy staffers murdered in Washington.
Pirro defended the use of masked federal agents during operations, saying they conceal their faces to avoid becoming targets. “I’m not here to argue that issue,” she said. “My job is to protect. My job is to prosecute. My job is to support those guys, and if you would prefer that they not be here, then you’re going to be dealing with the juveniles who are out of control.”
She also urged reforms that would expand her office’s ability to charge juveniles as adults, warning that lenient programs fail to deter repeat offenders. “You can’t repeatedly allow young people committing violent crimes to go to ice cream socials and yoga, because that’s what they do,” Pirro said.
Pirro added her office is facing significant shortages—down more than 70 prosecutors and 150 staff members—but said she is working with both Congress and Mayor Muriel Bowser on ways to strengthen resources.
“There is no Republican or Democratic way to protect the people of the District,” she concluded.