(NewsNation) — A day after President Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., homeless people in the city are being told to get off the streets or face fines and jail time.
Trump declared a public safety emergency for D.C. on Monday and announced a federal takeover of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department for 30 days.
National Guard forces and Humvees were deployed Tuesday night by the Washington Monument on the National Mall and about 800 total guard members will work in shifts of about 200, an official told NewsNation.
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
‘Limited’ space for homeless people in DC
Trump’s orders have left many homeless people in the area feeling they’ll have nowhere to go.
Two advocates for homeless people told NewsNation that the shelter space in D.C. is “very limited.” The city has 1,000 homeless people on the streets and only 60 shelter beds available.
“That’s gonna be a mess,” said one person living in one of the city’s homeless encampments. “Because that’s gonna be a mess, I’m telling you.
“These guys, they say we have nothing to lose. We’re all already on the street. So do whatever you wanna do. If you really care about me, then help me.”
Another person in the encampments said they are just trying to find work, even with the changing reality.
“I’m just trying to live, I’m just trying to survive. It’s been hard out here being homeless. The shelters are not always clean. It’s like you’re surviving for yourself,” they said.
Homeless people faces fines, jail time
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that homeless people will be given the option to leave their encampment, be taken to a homeless shelter or offered addiction or mental health services.
“If they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time,” Leavitt said. “Again, these are pre-existing laws that are already on the books. They have not been enforced.”
Many homeless people said they prefer to be in their tents, which could make the troops’ takeover a lot more complicated.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the administration’s move “unsettling and unprecedented,” but not surprising.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Rob Taub
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.newsnationnow.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
