Trump Announces 'Capital Capital Punishment' Plan: 'We Have No Choice'
Murderers in Washington, D.C., will face the death penalty, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
“It’ll be a crime-free city,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting, according to Real Clear Politics.
“Anybody who murders something in the capital, capital punishment. Capital, capital punishment,” Trump said in a video posted to X.
“If somebody kills somebody, in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty,” he said. “And it’s a very strong preventative, and everybody that’s heard it agrees with it.”
🚨 @POTUS: “If somebody kills somebody in the capital — Washington, D.C. — we’re going to be seeking the death penalty.” pic.twitter.com/Aa47sLzDbk
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 26, 2025
“I don’t know if we’re ready for it yet in this country, but we have no choice,” Trump said.
“So in D.C., in Washington — states are gonna have to make their own decision — but if somebody kills somebody, like you could have been killed, you’re very lucky you didn’t get killed, it’s the death penalty, okay?” Trump said to one reporter.
It was unclear who Trump singled out.
Earlier this month, as Trump began his crackdown on crime in Washington, ABC News anchor Kyra Phillips noted that crime was an everyday issue for anyone who works in the nation’s capital.
“I can tell you firsthand here in downtown D.C. where we work, right here around our bureau, just in the past six months, you know, there were two people shot, one person died, literally two blocks down here from the bureau,” Phillips said in a video posted to X.
“It was within the last two years that I actually was jumped walking just two blocks down from here,” she said.
“And then, just this morning, one of my co-workers said her car was stolen a block away from the bureau,” she continued.
“So we can talk about the numbers going down, but crime is happening every single day because we’re all experiencing it firsthand while working and living down here.”
Seeking the death penalty would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said, according to ABC.
“We will absolutely be following the president’s directive, and it ultimately is in the hands of the attorney general, who makes that decision,” Pirro said.
“When the president came in, the attorney general indicated that we would be seeking the death penalty in appropriate cases,” she added.
“I think that what the public is seeing is that Washington has been far too violent, one of the most violent cities, unfortunately, in the country, and it is time that we recognize that law and order is back in D.C., and that we will use all legal sanctions and sentences as called for by law,” Pirro continued.
The last execution in D.C. was in the 1950s.
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