Amid United States President Donald Trump’s move to initiate federal takeover of Washington, DC, homeless residents living in encampments in the District of Columbia were seen packing their belongings on Thursday.
The rapid response force posted a video on X showing an earth mover digging out the remains of an encampment in Washington, DC, which had been deserted by its residents.
“This decaying homeless encampment is currently being cleared and cleaned up in Washington, D.C. President Trump promised to make our nation’s capital safe and beautiful again — and he is delivering,” the post said.
The earth mover is seen digging and scooping away the remains of the encampment and depositing them in a nearby garbage dump.
Trump, who announced a “criminal emergency” in Washington and took federal control of the US Capital’s police department, had earlier said that the homeless people would be moved far from the city as part of his crackdown on crime. However, he did not reveal any details on the measures which would be taken to do so.
“We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
While there have been no forcible removals yet, homeless residents were seen packing up their belongings near the Institute of Peace, the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Wayne Turnage said that after the National Park Service had informed the city that it planned to close such sites on federal and district land, the officials in Washington had also decided to undertake some of the work.
Turnage termed the closing of encampments a “very complex process” and said that the officials were “dealing with human beings who, in many cases, have been marginalised.”
“We have put a process in place that we think respects that,” AP quoted Turnage as saying.
When asked where the homeless people would be relocated to earlier this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that local police and federal agencies would “enforce the laws that are already on the books”.
Leavitt said the homeless people will be given “the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental health services”. She added that refusal to obey the orders would result in fines or jail time.
