Colin M. McDonald (00:15):
Good morning, and thank you all for being here today. As Police Week comes to an end, let me start first by saying something that doesn't get said enough. The men and women of law enforcement in this country are extraordinary public servants. We are thankful for the work they have done in Washington, D.C. and across the country to keep Americans safe. All of us rely on them to keep our communities, families, and children safe. They are the true heroes among us and we are very grateful for their hard work and sacrifices each day. This summer, Washington, D.C. will host one of the most significant, if not the most significant national celebrations in a generation. On July 4th, 2026, our nation marks its 250th year of independence. This city, Washington, D.C. is going to be the center of this historic celebration. The Great American State Fair, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the July 4th Spirit of Independence Festival and countless other events hosted by federal and local entities.
(01:35)
Thanks to the vision of President Trump, millions of Americans will converge on this city to celebrate the country's founding and dream about its future. And thanks to the vision of President Trump, millions of Americans will get to enjoy this celebration in a historically safe city. With the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force launched last year, this administration has charted a new future of law and order and swift accountability for criminals who had been driving D.C.'s violent crime rates up to unacceptable levels. In just 281 days, D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force partners have made nearly 13,000 arrests, seized 1,418 illegal firearms from the streets of D.C. apprehended 32 murder suspects found 23 missing children, among other shocking results for public safety in this city. As a result of these remarkable efforts, crime is down over 25% in D.C. with even higher drops in the homicide rate and other violent crimes.
(02:54)
The criminals who had viewed D.C. as their playground are being taken off the streets, prosecuted and imprisoned. But our message today is that we're not done. We are not satisfied. We are not content with good. We are coming for perfection, and we won't be done until we reclaim every last inch of ground on anyone seeking to do harm in our nation's capital. We are fully committed to making this city a place where mothers feel safe walking their children to the corner market where running a late night errand doesn't put you at risk of a carjacking, where residents and tourists alike can freely experience the best this beautiful city can offer. Accordingly, this summer, starting now, the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force is going even deeper, even further to surge even more federal law enforcement resources to this district to drive down crime in D.C.
(04:08)
This is a proactive and deliberate measure to ensure this great city remains safe and beautiful. Our efforts will serve as an example to the entire country of what it looks like when leaders step up and say enough is enough when it comes to criminals and lawlessness. Thank you.
Gadyaces S. Serralta (04:44):
Thank you Assistant Attorney General McDonald. Good morning. I am happy to be here today with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, the National Guard, and so many of our federal law enforcement partners with D.C. Safe Task Force. Thank you all for your leadership and your support of the D.C. Safe Operation. It is my honor to stand before you today as Director of the United States Marshals Service and the chairman of the D.C. Safe Task Force. The American people gave us a clear mandate to Make America Safe Again. And today I am proud to say that thanks to the leadership of our president and this task force, Americans can walk around our beautiful capital again without worry that they will be a victim of a crime.
(05:53)
And we're also here to talk about turning up the heat on the criminals in D.C. All summer long, our nation's capital will be safe for all Americans. I want to recap what the D.C. Safe Task Force has already accomplished. Over the last nine months, we've come together with more than 30 different agencies and departments to create the D.C. Safe Task Force. It is a long list, but I want to recognize them. The U.S. Attorney's Office, my very own United States Marshals Service, D.C. National Guard, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Park Police, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Metro Transit Police Department, Secret Service, Federal Protective Service, Customs and Border Patrol, U.S. Capitol Police, Amtrak Police, Metropolitan Police Department, D.C. Fire, HHS TAC Med, Diplomatic Security Service, CSOSA, NCIS, Army CID, the D.C. Housing Authority Police, and multiple offices of Inspector General.
(07:26)
I'm so proud of everything the D.C. Safe Task Force has accomplished. We've made close to 13,000 arrests, many of them being the worst of the worst. Arrest of criminals wanted for murder, arrest of drug traffickers, and of sexual predators. The D.C. Safe Task Force has seized over 1,400 illegal firearms, preventing countless violent crimes in our nation's capital. Murders are down more than 35% and overall crime is down 26%. The violent carjackings that once plague this city are rare and will be over because we are not done. This brief recap shows our task force has spent the past nine months making D.C. a safer place for Americans to live, work, and visit. Washington, D.C. is our nation's capital, and it should be the safest place to visit in our entire nation. We are 50 days away from July 4th, the 250th birthday of our great nation, and today we want the public to know that we are not done. This summer, each agency on the D.C. Safe Task Force will push harder to eradicate crime, and to increase the quality of life in our beautiful nation's capital. We will increase-
Gadyaces S. Serralta (09:00):
... in our beautiful nation's capital. We will increase high visibility patrols across D.C. so Americans can safely celebrate America's 250 years of independence. You will see the difference all summer long in D.C. No crime will be tolerated, especially violent crime, drugs off the streets and guns out of the hands of criminals. We will use every tool available to law enforcement, drones, helicopters, tactical canines, and any and every asset available to law enforcement to turn up the heat on criminals in this city. I want to break it down by agency.
(09:50)
The marshals. The Marshal Service is combating violent crime every day. We will continue arresting criminals with warrants for heinous crimes. This summer, I'm committing the marshals to surge every resources to root out everyone committing crimes. I remind criminals who are on the run and in hiding, the marshals are the best man hunters in the world, and we will find you. Law and order has been restored. We are not done fighting crime in our nation's capital.
(10:27)
DEA. Over the past nine months, our DEA has found that the D.C. drug market is fueled by outside sources. It is part of a larger regional trafficking ecosystem tied to interstate narcotics pipelines, organized networks, and cartels linked to larger distribution channels. DEA is also allocating more resources to every district in D.C. to attack the nexus between drugs and violent crime. It is about time drug dealers be treated like terrorists since they are terrorizing our nation and the D.C. community.
(11:12)
ATF led by Robert Cekada. Our ATF will continue to fight illegal firearms trafficking across all state lines. All firearms illegally coming in from Maryland and Virginia will be found and seized. ATF will continue to use their highly successful gun tracing and intelligence capabilities to identify trafficking patterns and especially violent repeat offenders. Illegal firearms remain a major driver of violence in D.C., and our ATF is increasing operations to target violent criminals and gun traffickers operating in our nation's capital.
(11:56)
Park Police. Our US Park Police plays a vital role this summer, securing the America250 events, safeguarding our national park land and monuments in D.C., they are increasing officers in our nation's capital to patrol the monuments for more proactive policing. You will see more U.S. Park police on foot, in vehicles, and on horseback through D.C. to support the summer surge. Our National Guard. National Guard plans to grow their presence of guardsmen with the number of expected visitors for America250. They will continue to provide presence for high visibility and support across the district, so law enforcement can focus on their duties. High visibility presence reduces response times to crime, provides support to law enforcement on scene and keeps officers and civilians safe.
(13:04)
HSI led by John Condon. Similarly, Homeland Security Investigations now has the resources to double the number of special agents that they have on the streets in D.C. working with the task force on high visibility and patrols. This administration is taking on fraud all across the country, and HSI special agents are experts in fraud investigations.
(13:36)
They will continue to use intelligence-based target investigations to follow the money uncovering fake identities and grifters taking advantage of the systems meant for people in legitimate need. This summer, HSI will be targeting criminals in D.C. who use identity theft to fraudulently obtain housing but never pay rent, driving up prices in an expensive city where housing is already tight.
(14:12)
CSOSA being led by Marcus Hodges. We are thrilled to have CSOSA as part of our task force. The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is a federal agency mandated to supervise adults on probation, parole, and supervised release in the District of Columbia. CSOSA will continue leading the way with community supervision for D.C. residents on parole and probation. This summer, we'll keep D.C. safer by holding these individuals accountable.
(14:52)
All of these successes and strategies are a direct reflection of the Trump administration's focus and commitment to reducing violent crime and making our communities safer. The teamwork and collaboration modeled from the top down by this administration has been vital to the success of this operation. When federal, state, and local agencies operate as genuine partners, we can reclaim even the most troubled cities.
(15:26)
So to the American people, the celebration events for America250 will be safe for everyone to enjoy. Law and order has been restored to our nation's capital. D.C. will be the safest city in America for those who live, for those who work, and for those who visit. The task force will continue to turn up the heat on crime. We had tremendous successes that we can celebrate. Our men and women in law enforcement have worked so hard to get this city to this place but know that we'll keep moving forward to restore safety to the district and to ensure the safety of visitors all summer long.
(16:21)
Before we take some questions, I'd like Jeanine Pirro to say a few words.
Jeanine Pirro (16:25):
Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you, gentlemen. I first want to thank our federal and local law enforcement partners who've worked tirelessly over the last year to make our nation's capital safe. However, today we announced a new summer surge with increased law enforcement visibility and expanded coordinated operations ahead of America250.
(16:56)
Since the launch of the coordinated operations on August 7th of 2025, this engagement has become one of, if not, the largest modern joint law enforcement collaboration in history. The results have been undeniable. Almost 13,000 arrests, including homicide suspects, gang members, narcotics trespassers, fugitives, weapons offenders, almost 1,500 illegal firearms taken off the streets that then can't be used to intimidate and kill fellow citizens. And most importantly, violent crime is now down dramatically.
(17:36)
Homicides are down almost 50%, robberies down 42%, carjackings are down 60%. Those numbers represent lives saved, families protected, businesses able to function safely, and neighborhoods that are beginning to reclaim peace and tranquility. Since I took office, and it's been one year on May 14th of 2025, we have secured in my office over seven-
Jeanine Pirro (18:00):
2025, we have secured in my office over 7,000 convictions. This isn't just about arrest, we are convicting these people. Almost 80 homicide convictions, almost 1,000 illegal firearm convictions, over 900 narcotics offense convictions, 460 violent crime convictions, 43 carjacking convictions, and over 125 robbery convictions. And as the United States attorney, I will continue to use all of my powers to make sure that we use every tool available in our arsenal to make the arrests that are being conducted by these agencies stick and to get convictions.
(18:44)
However, there is one area in Washington, DC that has seen more than its share of one problem: Teen Takeovers. These takeovers have terrorized our neighborhoods, they have shut down businesses, and they have wasted hard-earned tax dollars of law-abiding residents who just want to live and work in peace. Those takeovers in places like the Navy Yard and NoMa often lead to disorderly conduct, assaults, robberies, and fights.
(19:24)
Mayor Muriel Bowser has repeatedly requested curfew zones and emergency measures while the DC Council refuses to deal with the problem. And I'm going to say that again, where the DC Council that passes the laws refuses to deal with the problem. And their lack of action creates an extremely dangerous situation for the people of the district and even the teens themselves.
(19:54)
And as we grapple with this problem, there is one area that hasn't been discussed. Parental involvement has been a noted gap in any discussion, and I am here to say, as the United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, that ends today. Starting today, my office will aggressively prosecute parents under DC's curfew law. And the specific statute that we will use is a violation of DC Code 22-811; and it involves contributing to the delinquency of a minor. This statute makes it unlawful for an adult to enable, facilitate, or permit a minor to engage in delinquent acts. The penalty is up to six months imprisonment.
(20:50)
If the evidence shows the parent knew or should've known or permitted or failed to prevent participation, we're going to charge them. And if you drop your kid off and you fail to supervise them or you let them skip school to join the chaos, you are going to face fines, court-ordered classes, and possible jail time. Penalties can be imposed even if the juvenile minor is not prosecuted. A parent commits this offense if they permit or, by insufficient control, allow a minor under the age of 18 to violate a curfew. Now we're going to be asking the Metropolitan Police Department to issue parental citations whenever a minor's curfew violation is tied to a takeover. We will seek to pair these citations with mandatory parental notification and court-mandated parental classes or family counseling as a condition of the resolution of the case.
(21:59)
The shame of this is that we are protecting your children, the ones who may join a teen takeover out of simple curiosity because you won't, because we don't want your child victimized. We now have to step into your shoes, parents, to make sure that your child is not victimized. This doesn't require new legislation, folks. It's all there, and it sends a clear message to the parents that you must supervise your kids or face criminal consequences. Law-abiding taxpayers should no longer have to pay for parental neglect and, as we take back our streets as you've heard today, there will be no excuses. Parents, do your jobs or we will do ours. And in the end, taxpayers will no longer subsidize the chaos caused by parental neglect. Parents, if you don't control your kids, the district will.
(23:06)
And as we approach, finally, the 250th anniversary, I want to be clear. My message to anyone who seeks to commit political violence in this district, DC is not the place. You will be held accountable and you will face the full wrath of the law. And just this morning before I came here, we filed notice that my office will seek death against the defendant Elias Rodriguez for the killing of two young Israeli embassy staff members at the Capitol Jewish Museum. Thank you.
Gadyaces S. Serralta (23:48):
Thank you, Judge, for your leadership. It's always refreshing. I'd like a few questions. Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Thank you so much. I have one on topic and one off topic. Assistant Attorney General McDonald announced 13,000 arrests following the search. I'm wondering, Director Serralta, how many of the reported arrests are immigration related? And is there an estimated cost of the law enforcement surge to the taxpayers so far? And then if I could just add, Madam US attorney, you mentioned the teen takeovers and prosecuting parents under US law. Can you talk a little bit more about what that might look like and what role the federal law enforcement would play outside of just MPD issuing these citations?
Gadyaces S. Serralta (24:29):
Okay, we'll start with the immigration piece. The immigration arrests tend to be about 15% of our arrests. But that's a calculation, it is not the bulk of arrests. At the beginning, it was more so the case. Now they're just not being arrested or not being found.
(24:53)
As far as the cost goes, the law enforcement officers that are working these cases are part of the task force. I want to make one point, right? Because we talk about illegal immigration as if it's not a violation of law, and it certainly is. The task force is enforcing all laws, every single one of them. And you will see a lot more of that this summer. Madam.
Jeanine Pirro (25:25):
Yeah. If I understand your question is what role do the feds have as it relates to the parents and the teen takeovers? Well, as you've already heard this morning, there will be a continuing joint operation. However, the way I see it occurring is that the MPD will be as soon as there is an arrest. It is a local and sometimes an office of the attorney general arrest, but the parental notification will be mandated along with a citation for the curfew violation.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Thank you for that. And Mr. Assistant Attorney General, I completely appreciate you can't comment directly, but in light of the reporting that DOJ is moving toward a possible indictment of Raúl Castro, at the same time the administration has openly pursued pressure campaigns against foreign governments, I'm wondering how you respond broadly to criticism that criminal charges might be used or even appear to be used as instruments of regime change rather than law enforcement.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
I'm not going to answer that question here. We're focused on making this city the safest it's ever been. And the hard work of the folks on this stage and some in the audience have achieved that, but again, we're not satisfied. We're going for more. We're going for perfection. And we look forward to grand celebrations in this city this summer.
Gadyaces S. Serralta (26:47):
Yeah, we're going to keep it to on topic. Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Madam, for you, you talk about going harsher penalties for the parents. What about for the teens that are arrested? I know in the past, you talked might be charging them maybe as adults. Is there any more follow up on the strict ramifications for them when they do gather and-
Speaker 3 (27:00):
On the strict ramifications for them when they do gather and do find themselves unlawful.
Jeanine Pirro (27:06):
Well, the law is clear. I can only prosecute teens under Title 16 if they commit four categories of... And that is if they're 16 and 17, if they commit four categories of crime, basically murder, sexual assault, robbery and burglary, and armed offenses related to those. So a teen takeover would be the kind of scenario that is handled by or a violation of curfew is handled by the local attorney general. That does not preclude me for bringing charges against the parents.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Is there a challenge with some of the judges to follow through?
Gadyaces S. Serralta (27:45):
Thank you. I'd like to pick somebody else. And let's try to get other topics, otherwise we're going to just talk about teen takeovers. Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
I do have a question on teen takeovers, but I also have a question about gun laws, if I may. I'll start with the gun laws. I understand that the Department of Justice sued the city over unconstitutional firearm bans. And I know for a fact that several residents in D.C. feel like they don't have a lot of options to protect themselves or their property. Are there any updates you can share with that case?
Gadyaces S. Serralta (28:16):
Do you want to? No, I was going to say that's not a task force case, so we don't...
Speaker 4 (28:22):
Or a message maybe to D.C. residents who feel like they don't have a lot of options when it comes to local laws.
Gadyaces S. Serralta (28:27):
No, not really. I'd like to talk about summer and how this task force is going to turn up the heat on criminals. If anybody has any of those questions. Yes sir. You, in the back.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
Thanks. I've got three quick questions. One, Judge Pirro, you know all too well that the mayor and the chief have lost the authority to implement the youth curfew zones. So when you speak about a curfew now, you're speaking about the curfew that is in effect at midnight. I'm wondering one: will the federal government implement its own similar curfew zones for groups of youth that has been used? Two: will we actually see an increase in troops or manpower on the streets? And then three, I'm wondering why MPD and the mayor's office wasn't consulted about this beforehand, why they're not here, why there was no coordination locally. Thank you.
Gadyaces S. Serralta (29:23):
Sure. You want to answer? I'll answer two and three.
Jeanine Pirro (29:27):
Look, as it relates to the curfew right now, as I indicated, the mayor has been very forceful in trying to get the D.C. council to give her the ability to do more than just an emergency curfew. She is looking to be able to create curfews in addition to 12 or midnight or 11 o'clock at night so that we can focus on these teen takeovers, especially the ones that are created as a result of or publicized as a result of social media. But the D.C. council is not only punting; they're just refusing to deal with it, and that's a real problem. Can Congress do more? Congress can always do more.
Speaker 5 (30:09):
So will you seek to have your own federal curfew?
Jeanine Pirro (30:13):
Take this.
Gadyaces S. Serralta (30:13):
Yeah. No, I understand. I understand. Let me answer questions two and three, and then we're probably going to call it. The National Guards were asked... I sent a request for an additional 1500 National Guardsmen. It'll bring the total of 5,000. I don't recall now your third question.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
I'm just wondering why D.C. wasn't consulted on this in advance of this announcement.
Gadyaces S. Serralta (30:39):
Well, this is the president's task force. Let me be clear. This is the president's task force. Okay. We're here to stamp out crime. They were invited, and to be quite frank with you, there's a lot of folks that are not behind us that are in this task force, and they're members of this task force, strong members of this task force. The Memphis Police Department, with many of our other partners are sitting at the Capitol Peacemakers Memorial. So it's a six-hour memorial. You can't leave in the middle of it. So I can tell you this because I know I was supposed to be there, but I took this press conference instead. Ma'am, I know you were waiting, so I'm going to take you a question as the last question.
Speaker 6 (31:21):
Two quick questions. One is a lot of these teens live in Maryland. Do you have jurisdiction to charge Maryland parents? How would that work?
Jeanine Pirro (31:30):
I'm only able to charge parents if they commit a crime in my jurisdiction.
Speaker 6 (31:35):
Okay. And second, you've talked publicly, US Attorney, about your staffing levels and how you've lost a lot of-
Jeanine Pirro (31:42):
Do you mind if I answer this?
Gadyaces S. Serralta (31:43):
Yeah, sure, go ahead.
Speaker 6 (31:43):
... staff.
Jeanine Pirro (31:45):
All right. I'm trying not to take this over in terms of the teen thing.
Speaker 6 (31:48):
Do you feel you have the staffing to handle an increase of what could be an increase in [inaudible 00:31:53]?
Jeanine Pirro (31:53):
Am I down in staff? Absolutely. And everybody here knows it. Okay. But are we willing to take charge and do what we have to and work day and night and work weekends? We do that.
Gadyaces S. Serralta (32:06):
Yeah. And I'm just going to add to that. This administration has been very supportive of all law enforcement components, and there's going to be more hiring. Hannah, you're going to be the last one because I just saw you.
Hannah (32:19):
Thank you. This is a question for Jeanine...
Gadyaces S. Serralta (32:22):
Don't tell me. Don't tell me. If it's for Jeanine Pirro, I'm turning this off right now.
Speaker 6 (32:26):
Okay. It's for both of you. It's for both of you. You mentioned that you've had trouble working with the D. C. council to implement some of your priorities. What steps are you taking now to work with them or to influence a policy that might help with the crime problem in D.C.?
Gadyaces S. Serralta (32:41):
Okay. So from a law enforcement standpoint, we're trying to review or get the authorities to review some of their policies, but that is a long process. That is something that a chief needs to be in place for. There's got to be a number of policy meetings just to strengthen the police department to be able to be police officers. They're not at that point yet. I mean, it's gotten better, but there's a lot more work to do to take the handcuffs completely off the Metropolitan Police Department officers. Okay. Thank you very much.
Speaker 7 (33:30):
Thank you, everybody. We're going to try to get our guests off the stage first. [inaudible 00:33:37]. Thank you all.