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By Sonam Sheth
Evening Politics Editor
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President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that his administration will pursue the death penalty for anyone who kills another person in Washington, D.C.
Why It Matters
Trump's remarks also come amid his deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard troops to the nation's capital, which the administration says is necessary to combat what Trump characterized as a high rate of violent crime.
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The president has said in recent days that he may deploy federal troops to other Democratic-led cities as well, including Baltimore, Chicago and New York.
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What To Know
"Anybody murders something in the capital, capital punishment," Trump said while speaking to reporters at a televised Cabinet meeting. "If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we're going to seeking the death penalty and that's a very strong preventative. And everybody that's heard it agrees with it."
Washington, D.C., abolished the death penalty in 1981 and the last time someone was executed in the district was in 1957. The maximum penalty in the capital today is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The president's comments on Tuesday came seven months after he granted unconditional pardons to roughly 1,500 people who were convicted or awaiting trial in connection to the deadly January 6, 2021, Capitol siege.
Trump referred to those who participated in the Capitol riot—many of whom were accused of violently attacking police officers while attempting to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election victory—as "hostages" and suggested they were being politically persecuted.
"I don't know if we're ready for it in this country, but when you have it, it's — we have no choice," Trump said during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, referring to the death penalty. "So in D.C., in Washington, states are going to have to make their own decision. But if somebody kills somebody ... it's the death penalty, OK?"
"It'll be a crime-free city," Trump said earlier in the meeting.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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