Declaring a public safety emergency this morning, the Trump administration announced it will federalize the D.C. city police — and put National Guard on the city streets — to combat crime in Washington, D.C.

Donald Trump announced that he was deploying the National Guard in Washington, D.C. and placing the city’s Metropolitan Police under federal control. Portraying the capital city as a crime-ridden hellhole, Trump told reporters that the city “is becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness.”

Vowing to “liberate” Washington, Trump said he would put an end to “the days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people.”