RELIGIOUS leaders in the United States, criticising President Trump’s characterisation of Washington, DC, as a “lawless wasteland” overrun with criminals, have said that his words were motivated by “a strategy of fear”.
The Bishop of Washington, the Rt Revd Mariann Budde, and the Dean of Washington National Cathedral, the Very Revd Randy Hollerith, issued a joint statement with Jewish and other church leaders after the deployment of National Guard troops in the capital.
President Trump has described the city, in a social-media post, as a place of “violent gangs, blood thirsty criminals, roving mobs of youth, drugged out maniacs, and homeless people”, and ordered in federal troops for a crime crackdown. But recent crime statistics show crime levels in Washington DC to be lower than a year ago.
The President’s language was “inaccurate and dehumanizing, increasing the risk of indiscriminate arrests and the use of excessive force”, the religious leaders said.
“From the White House, the president sees a lawless wasteland. We beg to differ. We see fellow human beings — neighbors, workers, friends and family — each made in the image of God.
“Even one violent crime is one too many, and all Washingtonians deserve to live in safety. But safety cannot be achieved through political theatre and military force. It requires honesty and sustained collaboration between government, civic, and private partners — work now being sidelined.
“The president has likened his intentions for Washington — and possibly other cities — to the harsh measures already used against migrants, tactics that have resulted in thousands detained in inhumane conditions and many deported without due process.
“As religious leaders, we remain firm in our commitment to serve those in need and to work collaboratively toward solutions to our city’s most pressing problems. We call on our political and civic leaders to reject fear-based governance and work together in a spirit of dignity and respect — so that safety, justice, and compassion prevail in our city.”
Republican governors of six other states have said that they will send troops to Washington to aid the crackdown. The first are set to arrive this week from West Virginia.
The White House has insisted that the push is already working, and that there have been arrests. But, after a court hearing, it was obliged to back down from its initial plan to put the Washington police department under federal control.
Dean Hollerith told US media: “There are crime issues in Washington [but] we’re not overrun by violent gangs or bloodthirsty criminals or roving mobs of youth or drugged out maniacs. These people are human beings, and they need to be treated as such, and we need to remember that.”
Bishop Budde has challenged President Trump’s policies before. At an interfaith service for his inauguration in January, she appealed to him to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now”, referring to LGBT individuals, as well as undocumented immigrants, as examples.
The President derided her plea, and allies of his later called for her deportation.