WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday, escalating his crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., by aiming to end cashless bail for suspects arrested in the city.
The efforts come as Trump continues to pressure local officials to comply with his demands to crack down on rising crime rates, accusing the Democratic-led city of letting crime get “out of control.”
Part of that effort is ending the policy known as “cashless bail,” a system in which suspects can be released from custody even if they don’t have enough money to post bail.
Under a cashless bail system, judges can decide whether to release suspects based on the severity of the crime and how likely they are to return for a court appearance. Rather than putting money down as a guarantee they’ll return, defendants can instead agree to mandatory check-ins, travel restrictions, location monitoring or more.
Proponents argue the system ensures equality in release standards rather than only allowing wealthier defendants to go free before trial because they have the means to afford it. However, opponents argue it leads to more criminals being released when they could be a danger to the community.
While Trump can’t outright end Washington’s no-cash bail system in D.C. Superior Court, the order allows the president to “take appropriate actions” if the district does not participate.
Here’s a look at the orders signed by Trump and what they mean for local law enforcement:
Ending cashless bail
Trump is asking relevant law enforcement agencies and other officials to ensure that people arrested in Washington are “held in Federal custody to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law,” according to the order.
Attorney General Pam Bondi must determine if the local agencies change its cashless bail policy for crimes that “pose a clear threat to public safety,” including murder, rape, carjacking, assault, burglary and more.
If local authorities do not change the city’s cashless bail policy, the order allows the Trump administration to take “appropriate action.” While that action is not entirely clear, the administration said it could result in withholding of federal funding, services or approvals and any other actions Bondi deems “necessary and appropriate.”
“The District of Columbia’s cashless bail policies allow dangerous individuals to be released quickly, endangering residents, visitors, and Federal workers, and force law enforcement to repeatedly arrest the same offenders,” the White House said in a statement.
Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, said he would end cashless bail, starting in Washington, which he has “the right to do by federalization.”
It also targets other jurisdictions across the country that have similar policies.
Washington was among the first areas in the country to implement cashless bail in 1992. Illinois has eliminated cash bail entirely and other states, such as New York and New Jersey, have also removed cash bail for some offenses. Advocates like The Marshall Project point to racial and economic justice in the reasoning for removing bail procedures.
On Monday, Trump claimed that defendants charged with murder could be allowed to “get out” due to cashless bail. However, defendants who are charged with murder are generally not able to be released before their trial, even in areas that have changed their bail practices, The New York Times reported.
Prosecuting those who ‘desecrate’ the American flag
Trump also signed an executive order that aims to prosecute people who “desecrate” the American flag to the “fullest extent permissible.”
The order directs Bondi and the Department of Justice to prosecute people who violate the country’s laws “in ways that involve desecrating the flag” and for her to pursue litigation that permits the flag from desecration under the First Amendment.
Trump’s order could face a legal obstacle after the Supreme Court in 1989 declared in the Texas v. Johnson case that burning the American flag was protected as free speech under the First Amendment.
The White House said in a statement that the Supreme Court never decided if flag desecration conducted in a “manner that is likely to incite imminent lawless action” is considered protected by the Constitution.
“The American flag is the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States of America, and desecrating it is uniquely and inherently offensive and provocative,” the White House said in its statement. “It is a statement of contempt and hostility toward our Nation, and an act used by groups of foreign nationals calculated to intimidate and threaten violence against Americans.”
The White House pointed to the protests earlier this year in Los Angeles, where people burned an American flag.
The order also directs Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “deny, prohibit, terminate, or revoke visas, residence permits, or nationalization proceedings, and other immigration benefits, or seek removal from the United States.”
Further crackdown on crime in Washington
Trump signed a third executive order on Monday instructing law enforcement officials making arrests for local crimes to charge individuals with federal violations.
By circumventing the cashless bail system, it would allow local officials to hold suspects in federal custody and to be charged with federal crimes. The order calls for federal standards and pretrial detention to be used “whenever possible, consistent with applicable law” to ensure suspects are not released from custody until a trial is held.
Going further, the order would direct the U.S. attorney general to review the Metropolitan Police Department’s policies to determine whether they are being used to release detainees before their trials even if the individual could be considered dangerous.
If such policies are identified, the attorney general must then request the D.C. mayor to update or modify those policies — giving the attorney general the ability to pressure local officials to change their policies if deemed inadequate by the federal government.
The orders come as Trump further intensifies his efforts to take control of the D.C. police department after initially signing an order on Aug. 11 approving the deployment of 800 National Guard soldiers to the nation’s capital. As of Sunday, some of those soldiers are now being armed as they patrol the streets.
Crime rates in the city overall have reportedly gone down over the last year, according to statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department. Violent crime, for example, has decreased by 26% compared to this time last year.
However, Trump has accused the city of falsifying its data to make it appear as if crime is going down. The Department of Justice opened an investigation into the Metropolitan Police Department this week, and congressional Republicans initiated their own inquiry on Monday.
The Trump administration has touted its work in the capital city so far, which it says has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests and no reported homicides in nearly two weeks.