Trump Deploys National Guard for Local Crime After Calling Jan. 6 Rioters ‘Very Special’
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CNN’s Dana Bash roasted for calling Jan. 6 ‘most violent moment in recent history’ after Trump crime presser
CNN anchor Dana Bash drew fire from social media users on Monday after claiming the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was the “most violent moment in recent history” in Washington D.C. Bash was reporting on President Donald Trump’s federal efforts to combat crime in the nation’s capitol. Bash’s comment was attacked across X for suggesting the January 6 Capitol riots were more violent than recent years in D.c. NBC reporter Jonathan Allen made similar comments on a panel for MSNBC the same day. The only person who died on January 6th, 2021 at the Capitol, as a direct result of that day’s events, was Ashli Babbitt, who died of a stroke the next day. CNN has not responded to requests for comment on Bash’s comments on Jan.6.
Trump announced earlier that day that he would be federalizing officers in Washington, D.C. and deploying the National Guard into the nation’s capital to combat high crime rates.
After hosting a panel on Trump’s White House announcement of the plan, Bash referenced the Capitol protest before going to commercial.
“Just as we go to break, I should note that the most violent moment in recent history in D.C. was January 6th, and it was an attack on the United States Capitol by a lot of people who were doing it in the name of Donald Trump,” Bash said. “And it included the people who were hurt, included members of law enforcement.”
Trump Jabs Media During Dc Crime Press Conference: You’re Liberal But Don’t Want To Be Mugged And Killed
The comment was attacked across X for suggesting the Jan. 6 Capitol riots were more violent than recent years in D.C.
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“Beyond parody — genuinely an insult to viewers,” The Federalist senior contributor Benjamin Weingarten wrote.
Radio host Ryan Schuiling reported, “There was a 20-year high 274 homicides in calendar year 2023. The only person who died on January 6th, 2021 at the Capitol, as a direct result of that day’s events, was Ashli Babbitt. Brian Sicknick was not pummeled with a fire extinguisher, he died of a stroke the next day.”
“Ummm, @DanaBashCNN– BLM literally set the D.C. streets on fire during the May 2020 riots. And they attacked the White House,” reporter Jim Stinson wrote, adding screenshots of news reports on the riots.
NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck commented, “The only time CNN’s Dana Bash got particularly forceful in denouncing Washington D.C. crime was….when she invoked January 6.”
“There have been 14 homicides in Washington D.C. in the last month alone. CNN is a JOKE,” Ohio journalist Walter Curt exclaimed.
Cnn Spent Three Times More Coverage On Jan. 6 Than Inflation News: Study
Fox News Digital reached out to CNN for comment.
NBC reporter Jonathan Allen made similar comments on a panel for MSNBC’s “Ana Cabrera Reports” the same day.
“The most violent moment in my life in Washington, D.C., the greatest cause of a threat, not only physical threat, but a bigger threat to the country, certainly to law enforcement officers, was January 6th, 2021, when Donald Trump’s supporters, his allies, some people who currently work for him, charged into the Capitol, beat cops, screamed profanities at them, yelled ‘kill the cops,’ said they wanted to hang the Vice President of the United States,” Allen said.
NBC reporter Jonathan Allen also called Jan. 6 the most violent day he witnessed in Washington, D.C.
He continued, “And Donald Trump’s response to that here in the nation’s capital, at the Capitol building, was to pardon everyone who was involved and, in some cases, rehire them into his government. So watching this play out in the White House briefing room, without any mention of the violent crime that was committed on his behalf in Washington, D.C., is a little unusual.”
Original article source: CNN’s Dana Bash roasted for calling Jan. 6 ‘most violent moment in recent history’ after Trump crime presser
NewsNation anchor flips out when Trump critic Mehdi Hasan invokes Jan. 6 and cuts off interview
NewsNation anchor Leland Vittert cut short an interview with Mehdi Hasan when the Zeteo founder repeatedly mentioned the January 6 Capitol riots. Trump announced he was deploying 800 National Guard soldiers to combat street crime in Washington, D.C. Local officials immediately pointed out that crime in the city has been rapidly declining over the past two years. After experiencing a surge in 2023, the violent crime rate fell 35 percent in 2024 and has continued to drop through 2025. The president has vowed to stop the “thugs” from abusing cops in the capital, saying he’s told law enforcement to do “whatever they want” when confronting criminals and dissenters, he also pardoned hundreds of his supporters who attacked police officers on January 6. The former Fox News host grew increasingly irate when Hasan kept pressing his point. “What about their rights? I’m still trying to understand why, if you’re a law-abiding citizen, more police is a bad idea,” he said.
“You cannot talk about this,” Vittert sneered before abruptly ending the conversation.
Days after a group of teenagers attacked a former DOGE staffer in an attempted late-night carjacking, Trump announced that he was deploying 800 National Guard soldiers and his administration was taking control of Washington’s police force to combat street crime, portraying the nation’s capital as a dystopian hellscape.
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“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,” Trump bellowed while declaring a public safety emergency at a Monday press conference. “And we’re not going to let it happen anymore.”
Despite the president’s claims of out-of-control violence on the streets of D.C., local officials immediately pointed out that crime in the city has been rapidly declining over the past two years. After experiencing a surge in 2023, the violent crime rate fell 35 percent in 2024 and has continued to drop through 2025. In fact, last year represented a 30-year low in violent crime offenses for the city.
NewsNation anchor Leland Vittert melted down on Monday night during an interview with Mehdi Hasan, eventually ending the conversation prematurely when Hasan repeatedly referenced the January 6 Capitol riots. (NewsNation)
Critics have also been quick to point out that while Trump has vowed to stop the “thugs” from abusing cops in the city, saying he’s told law enforcement to do “whatever they want” when confronting criminals and dissenters, he also pardoned hundreds of his supporters who attacked police officers on January 6.
It was this contrast that Hasan wanted to explore during his appearance on NewsNation’s On Balance on Monday evening. However, the former Fox News host did not want to go down that road – and grew increasingly irate when Hasan kept pressing his point.
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At the start of the interview, Hasan noted that it was just a few months ago that the president was bragging that crime and murders were down in Washington, adding that when the administration wants to “show the statistics in their favor, they did.” Vittert, meanwhile, claimed that the ex-MSNBC star was “making a mistake” by focusing on declining crime rates.
“We have a video from about a week ago where they beat up, this mob of 15-year-olds were carjacking somebody, beat somebody up, almost killed them,” the NewsNation anchor asserted. “What about their rights? I’m still trying to understand why, if you’re a law-abiding citizen, more police is a bad idea.”
Hasan, who recently went viral with his Jubilee debate against 20 far-right conservatives, pointed out that Trump wasn’t just looking to add more police officers but was instead mobilizing military troops on the streets of the nation’s capital. At the same time, he took issue with Vittert’s argument that crime rates shouldn’t factor into the president’s decision.
“When you say it doesn’t matter whether it’s up or down, it does. Some of us believe in truth and facts. When you’re saying, you know, crime should be stopped, of course crime should be stopped. But this is not the solution. Are you planning, or is Trump planning, to send the National Guard to every city?” Hasan declared, wondering if the president would deploy troops to a Republican-led city.
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“This is not sustainable, Leland. You’re smarter than Donald Trump,” he added, prompting Vittert to call for the president to send the National Guard to St. Louis next.
After Hasan said that Americans “don’t like the military on our streets” because “we’re not a tin-pot dictatorship,” adding that you “can’t solve the crime problem by sending the National Guard,” Vittert responded by urging his guest to “put the National Guard aside” for the moment.
“No, I’m not. I’m not gonna put the National Guard aside because it’s quite important,” Hasan objected. “It’s at the core of this. This is about Trump wanting to do a power grab. This is about Trump’s obsession with the military.”
With Vittert looking to interrupt, Hasan mocked the idea that the National Guard deployment was “because Trump cares about crime” in Washington before invoking the attempted post-election insurrection at the Capitol.
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“Because I remember Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, not giving a crap about crime in D.C.,” the progressive commentator added, causing Vittert to blow up.
“Oh, come on! Noun, verb, January 6. Mehdi, no! Mehdi, come on! Come on! Come on! Mehdi, Mehdi, Mehdi, I know you’ve said that 150 police officers got hurt,” the On Balance host fumed.
Things broke down between Leland Vittert and Mehdi Hasan on Monday night during a debate over Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington. (NewsNation)
At this point, the conversation began to fully break down as the two began to talk over each other, with Vittert grumbling that Hasan had brought it back to the Capitol riots while the Zeteo editor-in-chief stood firm that it was a crucial piece of context.
“I said to you, Donald Trump doesn’t care about crime in D.C. You said yes, he does. And I said I’m gonna give you evidence to prove he doesn’t. If he cared about crime in D. C., why did he pardon 600 people who assaulted police officers? You can’t come and make this emotional,” Hasan exclaimed, only for Vittert to cut him off and proclaim: “You cannot talk about this!”
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Eventually, the NewsNation anchor complained that “this is absolutely silly” before Hasan once again maintained that Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6 attacks were fundamental to the conversation.
“The only person who died on January 6 was a Trump supporter, and you can’t talk about what’s happening on the streets right now,” Vittert groused, referencing slain Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt.
“Let me know when you want me to speak,” Hasan responded.
“No, you cannot talk about this without talking about January 6 or anything else. You won’t have an argument on the merits. Mehdi, thank you as always,” Vittert snapped back, ending the interview at that point.
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Following the contentious back-and-forth with Vittert, Hasan took to social media to take Vittert to task for prematurely ending their conversation.
“So, in discussing crime in DC, the conservative host on NewsNation, Leland Vittert, lost it when I brought up January 6th and Trump’s failure to prevent violent crimes that day, and his refusal to send in the National Guard that day,” he tweeted. “He cut me off and then ended the interview!”
The author of this article previously worked for Zeteo.
Democrats Criticize Mobilization of National Guard to Address D.C. Crime
Several Democrats criticized the Trump administration for mobilizing the National Guard in an effort to address crime in Washington, DC. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Glenn Ivey were among the Democrats who criticized the mobilization. Trump also revealed that he was “officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act” and that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) would be placed under “direct federal control.” Trump also previously ordered law enforcement officers from agencies such as the U.S. Park Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and divisions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to patrol the streets of D.C.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) were among the Democrats who criticized the mobilization of the National Guard and other specialized units to the District of Columbia to address crime.
As Breitbart News’s Hannah Knudsen reported, during a press conference on Monday with President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that the D.C. National Guard had been mobilized and that it would “be operationalized by the Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll.”
During the press conference, Trump also revealed that he was “officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act” and that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) would be placed under “direct federal control.”
“President Trump’s decision to mobilize the National Guard to conduct municipal policing in D.C. lacks seriousness and is deeply dangerous,” Moore said in a statement. “As someone who has served overseas in uniform and is commander-in-chief of the Maryland Guard, I take how, when, and why we deploy members of our armed forces personally and seriously.”
Moore continued to claim that Trump’s actions lacked “both data and a battle plan,” and accused the president of “using honorable men and women as pawns to distract us from his policies.”
“Donald Trump delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake,” Pelosi wrote in a post on X. “Now, he’s activating the DC Guard to distract from his incompetent mishandling of tariffs, health care, education and immigration — just to name a few blunders.”
“On January 6, rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol and assaulted the police while Trump stalled on calling in the National Guard,” Ivey said in a statement. “Now, when a former DOGE staffer is assaulted, he suddenly scrambles to call in the Guard and even tries to federalize local police. This is not about public safety. Crime is down in DC. It’s a desperate attempt to distract from the Epstein files and yet another unprecedented and dangerous misuse of our military.”
The mobilization of the D.C. National Guard and placing the MPD under federal control comes in the aftermath of Edward Coristine, a well-known DOGE member called “Big Balls,” being assaulted in Washington, DC. In the aftermath of the assault on Coristine, Trump threatened to take “federal control” of the District of Columbia unless crime was addressed.
Trump also previously ordered law enforcement officers from agencies such as; the U.S. Park Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and divisions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to patrol the streets of D.C. for seven days in an effort to crack down on violent crime.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/us/politics/trump-jan-6-dc-crime.html