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6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS CRIMINALIZATION AUGUST 22, 2025 Homeless residents react to Donald Trump’s threats to clear encampments in D.C. MADI KOESLER, FRANZI WILD Street Sense Media With D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) now under federal control and the National Guard coming to D.C., the fate of people living in encampments remains up in the air. During his press conference on Monday August 11, President Donald Trump said law enforcement has already begun to clear encampments, but Street Sense has been unable to confirm this, and has not seen any encampments removed as of Monday afternoon. Homelessness outreach providers and the Department of Human Services (DHS) visited encampments along I-66 before the Monday press conference to offer shelter and resources. DHS officials on-site told residents, “from our perspective, we just want to make sure people are staying safe.” This follows a Truth social post by Trump yesterday with photos of tents along the interstate and of one person on the steps of the American Institute of Pharmacy on his way to golf. Street Sense reporters spoke to residents who live in the encampments along I-66 about their reactions to Trump’s announcement and threat to remove encampments. “I ain’t ever bought no prostitutes. I ain’t never raped nobody. I ain’t never paid anybody off. None of that stuff,” said G, a resident from one of the photographed tents. “He’s much more of a criminal than I am.” G says the worst thing he does is drugs, and he would willingly go to jail if Trump went with him. He moved to the green along the interstate because it felt safer than his apartment building. He’s found a community in his encampment over the last two months, but plans to move on Monday because of the attention from Trump and media outlets. “They’ve been doing this to Black men since the dawn,” Franklin Lee said. “He don’t give a damn. He’s saying f*** the Constitution.” Franklin Lee has lived outside for 10 years all across D.C. He currently lives in a tent along I-66 outside the Kennedy Center. Over the decade, he’s developed a distrust for law enforcement and Trump — feeling let down by how the government treats people who aren’t “billionaires and trillionaires.” Lee doesn’t identify with either political party but says Trump is the first president he’s ever wanted to give the finger to. If he is forced to move his tent, he said he plans to give the government a piece of his mind. “I pray for America and the presidency on a daily basis. I pray for peace,” George Morgan said. “I believe there’s a lot that could be done.” Morgan also lives in one of the tents posted by Trump in the Truth social post along his commute to Trump’s National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Morgan’s from D.C. and lived along the interstate for about two months with his dog Blue. He is interested in moving into shelter, but doesn’t want to leave Blue behind. As he stays at his encampment, Morgan is optimistic that Mayor Muriel Bowser might be able to come to an agreement with Trump. Bowser addressed the press just after 3 p.m. Monday, telling District residents the MPD will comply with the law but noted that D.C. has not experienced a crime spike since 2023. She confirmed she contacted Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was tapped by Trump to “take command” of MPD. The mayor also noted that all law enforcement must be identifiable by a “uniform, a badge, a jacket, so that people know that they are law enforcement.” This comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been seen across the nation wearing masks and unidentifiable clothing. When asked specifically about encampment clearings and if Chief Pamela Smith will comply if Bondi directs local law enforcement to arrest or move people experiencing homelessness out of D.C., Bowser replied, “Well, let me just say what MPD needs to be focused on, and it’s violent crime. We simply — like — our force, when the chief deploys, every day and every night, is focused on people who are committing crimes in the District.” Encampment updates Wednesday, Aug. 13, 12:35 p.m: Out of the nine clearly visible tents located at the encampment photographed by President Trump on his way to golf last week, seven have been tagged for clearing by the city at 10 a.m. Thursday. The stickers attached to the tents note they have been marked for: Scheduled Full Cleanup, Immediate Disposition and Encampment Site Closure. Wednesday, Aug. 13, 11:30 a.m: This morning, encampment clearings began. Two days after Trump’s initial press conference, the city’s scheduled encampment cleanup in Mt. Pleasant was rescheduled less than an hour before it was supposed to begin. Instead, the city began clearing an area along the highway in Foggy Bottom. Officials from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) and the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) were seen at 20th Street NW and E Street NW near the entrance to the E Street Expressway, telling residents to move their tents. The encampment being cleared was along the route from the White House to the Kennedy Center, which Trump is visiting today. Street Sense is working to confirm if the removal was an immediate disposition and how many tents will be removed today. Rachel Pierre, the interim head of D.C.’s Department of Human Services (DHS), said the move was a response to the executive order and that other sites, including nearby ones that the city officials are currently at, could be closed as early as tomorrow morning. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a live community chat streamed on X the night before clearings began that visible tents are an issue for Trump. “This is his issue, seeing homeless encampments — it just triggers something in him,” she said. Trump signed two executive orders as part of his move to take over the city. The first places MPD under federal control for 30 days, and the second will deploy 800 National Guard troops to the District. Trump claims these actions will bring down crime in the city, but the violent crime rate has actually been decreasing over the last two years. “We’ll deploy officers across the District with an overwhelming presence,” Trump said at the press conference. Though homelessness is not mentioned in either executive order, Trump said part of his goal was to respond to the “drugged-out maniacs and homeless people” he says have taken over the city. The day before the announcement, Trump made a Truth Social Post with photos of tents along the interstate and of one person on the steps of the American Institute of Pharmacy on his way to golf. In the post, Trump called for the removal of people experiencing homelessness from the District, writing: “The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY.” In a press conference on Aug. 12, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said MPD will begin reinforcing laws against camping and people experiencing homelessness, “will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental health services,” and if they refuse, could be fined or arrested. As of Aug. 7, the most recent day for which shelter occupancy data is available, there was only one vacant bed in the city’s low-barrier shelters. According to outreach workers, the city opened 70 additional shelter beds last week. Trump also said during the Monday, Aug. 11 press conference that law enforcement began removing encampments from the city’s parks and underpasses over the weekend, though Street Sense has not been able to confirm this. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum added that the Park Police have removed over 70 encampments since March, when Trump issued an executive order to “make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful,” and Leavitt said there are plans to remove two final encampments on federal land. “We’re moving the encampments away, trying to take care of people,” Trump said, adding there are “places they can go.” “We’re going to help them as much as you can help.” Bowser addressed the press later on Monday, telling District residents the MPD will comply with the law and confirmed she contacted Bondi, who was tapped by Trump to “take command” of MPD. On Monday morning, homelessness outreach providers and staff from the DHS visited encampments along I-66 to offer shelter and resources. A D.C. official familiar with the issue said as of Aug. 12, the city’s approach to encampments has not changed, and the government will keep supporting federal partners. Street Sense has reached out to the Deputy Mayor for DMHHS, the D.C. agency that normally handles encampment clearings and MPD, with specific questions about how the order will impact encampment closures in the coming days, and has not yet received a response. In an Aug. 7 email ahead of the federalization, the D.C. Attorney General’s office warned of a possible increase in involuntary commitments, or FD-12s, of people experiencing see THREATS next page 

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