Washington, D.C.’s mayor struck a dramatically different tune Tuesday regarding President Donald Trump’s federalization of the city’s police force, diverging from her original response to the matter.

“This is a time where community needs to jump in. We all need to, to do what we can in our space, in our lane, to protect our city and to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule, and get to the other side of this guy, and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push,” Bowser said during town hall with community leaders, which was livestreamed on X.

She called Trump’s effort “an intrusion on our autonomy.”

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during an online town hall on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Mayor Muriel Bowser/X)

Bowser said, “The chief of police had concerns about one commander, investigated all seven districts and verified that the concern was with one person. So, we are completing that investigation, and we don’t believe it implicates many cases.”

Gleick added, “The mayor says department leadership found data reporting anomalies in just one police district.”

Juvenile crime has been a point of emphasis amid the Trump administration’s federalization move. 

On the night of May 17, a mob of about 100 teenagers terrorized the Navy Yard neighborhood a block from Nationals Park.

It was the second such teen takeover in less than a month.

People participate in a rally against the Trump Administration’s federal takeover of the District of Columbia, outside of the AFL-CIO on August 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump announced he is placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control, and will deploy the National Guard to the District in order to assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

At about 8 p.m., police began receiving calls about disorderly conduct, but the situation quickly turned violent. One group of teens beat two bystanders, punching them, knocking them to the ground and then stomping on them, according to WUSA9.

There was at least one other similar incident that night. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Bowser’s office and the DOJ.