Trump Crime Agenda is a Distraction

Letter to the Editor in North Country Now, September 4, 2025

To the Editor:

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 specifically restricts the use of federal military personnel for domestic law enforcement tasks.  According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the National Guard is not subject to this law when operating under state control, but is when operating under federal control. 

President Trump has no right to send either military troops or the National Guard into any state. These unlawful deployments are happening without consultation with governors about whether a real crisis exists or not and without their legal authorization.

“Chicago is a mess” as Trump claims?  No. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson states that over the past year, homicides in Chicago have fallen by more than 30%, robberies by 35%, and shootings by almost 40%.

D.C. needs intervention?  No. Justice Department data shows violent crime hit a 30-year low last year in Washington, DC.

Baltimore is “crime ridden” as Trump posts?  No. "In July, the Baltimore police department said there had been a double-digit reduction in gun violence compared to the previous year. The city has had 84 homicides so far this year - the fewest in over 50 years,” according to the mayor. 

President Donald Trump has threatened to illegally deploy the National Guard to Chicago, New York, Seattle, Baltimore, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, citing crime. Yet data indicates most violent crime in those places and around the country has declined since the pandemic.  Homicides have dropped significantly in all but one of those cities.  While there are of course exceptions, the overall trend nationwide is a decrease in crime.  

Revealing the hypocrisy, Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill Act” cuts $850 million in Justice Department grant funds, impacting the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, school safety grants, youth mentoring programs, assistance for victims, and much more.

We agree with Illinois Gov. Pritzker who said, "Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families.”

This is not about addressing crime; it’s about exercising power.  It’s about deflecting attention from his attempts to hide what the Epstein files would reveal. Americans who stand opposed to authoritarian rule need to say no to US troops doing what our police are well trained and paid to do.

Mike Zagrobelny and Ginger Storey-Welch

St. Lawrence County Democratic Committee Chair and Vice-Chair

Image courtesy of CNN-News 18