Videos of Trump DC takeover show masked, non ID’d agents despite claims from police chief

Footage of federal agents during Trump’s police surge being non-identifiable by their agency contradicts DC police chief Pamela Smith’s claims that all the agents will be wearing agency logos on their uniforms.

As more video footage comes out of President Donald Trump’s D.C. takeover, it’s hard to understand what Mayor Muriel Bowser meant when she said residents should continue to take advantage of the city’s “great nightlife.”

Last night, HuffPost journalist Jennifer Bendery filmed the federal agents pulling cars over on the corner of 14th Street and W Northwest, reporting that they arrested a Black woman in one of the cars they stopped. Bendery also pointed out that some of the agents were not identifiable by their agency.

An increased volume of arrests is consistent with what D.C. police chief Pamela Smith said would happen with 500 personnel added to the police force. On Tuesday night, the new task force of federal and local law enforcement arrested 23 people. But, Smith said in an interview with Fox 5 DC yesterday that agents would be wearing labels with their agencies on them.

“They have their own agency logos,” Smith said. “They have their exterior vests, whether it’s HSI, whether it’s FBI, DEA. They have the visible agency logo, so you will know who they are.”

Reports are also showing that some of the agents are also wearing face coverings and pulling up to the scene in unmarked cars, though Smith did not discuss whether or not this was an expectation in the interview.

DC residents have been vocal about the increased police presence. Some were protesting at the 14th Street checkpoint last night, chanting “shame” at the officers.

In a neighborhood in Southeast D.C., a group of Black male residents filmed local and federal agents intimidating them. The agents poured out their liquor onto the street, filmed the residents, and swiped the phones out of their hands. The video shows the agents putting one man in the group in handcuffs, while men from the group protest, saying that the man is being illegally detained. The agents also walk into an apartment in the neighborhood to arrest someone in the building.

The goal of the 30-day police takeover is not completely clear from the White House. According to Mayor Bowser, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi did not give her a “hard measure” for what the outcome of the surge should be, but that they “regard it as a success to have more presence and to take more guns off the street.” According to Bowser, they will evaluate during the 30 days that the police surge takes place.

“What we want to make sure of is that this federal surge is useful to us,” she told Fox 5 D.C. yesterday. She has agreed to cooperate with the Trump executive order and spoke with Smith in support of the takeover.