President Donald Trump said Tuesday that all murder prosecutions in Washington, D.C., should carry the death penalty, despite the city not having capital punishment.
“Anybody murders something in the capital, capital punishment If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty,” Trump told reporters as his Cabinet gathered at the White House.
This comes as part of the US president’s wider crackdown on crime.
Earlier this week, Trump deployed hundreds of troops to the US capital, drawing widespread criticism.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said his government will seek the death penalty for all murders in the capital Washington as part of what he describes as a crackdown on crime.
Read Also
Most murders in Washington are prosecuted under local law in DC Superior Court, where the harshest punishment prosecutors can seek is life in prison.
Prosecutors can bring murder charges to federal court in certain conditions, and federal laws then establish if a crime is eligible for the death penalty.
Washington and nearly two dozen states have abolished the death penalty.
Earlier this month, Trump sent hundreds of armed personnel to the US capital as part of what he claimed was a crime-fighting operation.
In recent days, several US National Guard units patrolling Washington began carrying firearms.
Trump is reportedly considering expanding deployments to other Democratic-led cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, and New York.
The move provoked outrage from critics and Democratic leaders in both states, forcing Trump to once again deny being a dictator, claiming that some people in the country have suggested they could use one.
