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The history of federal control in Washington, D.C.

In Washington, D.C., troops from the National Guard are patrolling areas around national monuments.

On Wednesday night, federal agents and D.C. police officers stopped vehicles at checkpoints, pulling people over for broken taillights or not wearing their seat belts.

Protesters stood nearby, shouting, “Go home.”

As NPR’s Rachel Treisman reports, President Trump’s takeover of D.C. law enforcement is not the first time the city has been under tighter federal control.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

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