In a bustling intersection of Washington, D.C.’s U Street corridor, just steps from a YMCA, a popular bakery, and a local pharmacy, federal and local law enforcement officers set up a checkpoint Wednesday night.
The move comes as part of President Donald Trump’s initiative to intensify crime control in the nation’s capital, News.Az reports, citing NBC News.
Uniformed officers with the Metropolitan Police Department stood alongside Homeland Security Investigations personnel and several plainclothes agents at the checkpoint in the U Street corridor at one of the first checkpoints set up since Trump temporarily put D.C. police under federal control and deployed the National Guard.
More than 100 protesters soon gathered in the Northwest D.C. neighborhood, heckling law enforcement as they stopped cars approaching the checkpoint and in some cases flagged the vehicles for additional investigation. Some protesters began warning drivers to avoid the checkpoint.
Protesters, federal agents and local officers all dispersed without incident.
One vehicle was towed away from the checkpoint, with witnesses telling NBC News that the driver was removed from the sedan and arrested.
The Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the checkpoint and any potential arrests.
Members of the National Guard, roughly 800 of whom were activated this week to support law enforcement in the city, were not seen at the checkpoint.
A White House official said Wednesday that the deployment of National Guard troops would be “significantly higher” throughout the week, and that the operation would expand from evening shifts to working around the clock.
The increased law enforcement presence has drawn mixed reactions from D.C.-area residents — some are praising the crackdown on crime while others are criticizing Trump for his administration's tactics.
"I know every inch of the city, and to have seen over the years the deterioration of public places, either with graffiti or with people who are homeless, I couldn’t be more encouraged by the fact that there are people now that really want to say, 'Stop let’s make this better,'" said Christopher Her, a Maryland resident who previously worked in D.C.
