Pressley Blasts Trump’s Authoritarian Threats to Boston, Other Major Cities as DC Sues Trump Over National Guard Deployment

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) joined Congressman Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Free DC, and several D.C. Councilmembers to oppose Donald Trump’s unlawful occupation and federal law enforcement surge in Washington, DC. As the Trump Administration threatens to send more National Guard troops to cities across the country and as soldiers with rifles and federal agents occupy neighborhoods in Washington, DC, Rep. Pressley stands with D.C. residents in pushing back, fighting for statehood, and defending the safety, beauty, and joy of Washington, DC.

The coalition’s calls today also come as Washington, DC sues the Trump Administration over its deployment of the National Guard.

A full transcript of the Congresswoman’s remarks at the press conference is available below, and full video is available here.

Transcript: As Trump Weaponizes National Guard, Pressley Calls for End to DC Occupation and Militarization of America’s Cities

September 4, 2025

Washington, DC

Good morning! Well, another day, another day in the midst of a hostile government takeover, hostile administration, one that is anti-freedom and anti-Blackness on steroids. 

Thank you all for being here today. I’m proud to join Free DC in solidarity. 

Let me be clear, everyone who calls DC home deserves representation and freedom. 

This city is home to scholars, to educators, to families, hard working people, and for too long, they’ve been denied statehood and the rights and protections it affords. 

And in this moment, we see the current occupant of the White House, a man who once called for the lynching of the now exonerated Central Park Five. We see this man sending federal troops into this beautiful majority-Black city. 

Our DC residents are experiencing whiplash. One moment you’ve got the National Guard sitting around looking bored, no clear mission, maybe picking up litter, and then on the next spot, you’ve got tactical teams swooping in to handcuff and kidnap hard working dads just trying to get to the job site or to get their child to school. 

When Trump uses these authoritarian tactics in DC, he is signaling and threatening his intent to bring them to communities across our country, including Boston, which I’m proud to represent, and Chicago, the city that raised me. 

Cities around the country are having to prepare for the unthinkable and unlawful when the President threatens to send militarized forces into local communities who do not need or want this abuse of power. 

Let me say that again, no one wants this, Donald. This cruel, lawless administration only cares about power, retaliation and punishment for those who don’t bow down to their right-wing authoritarian agenda. 

But I’m also here because DC is personal to me, even before serving as a Congresswoman, many years ago, I lived and worked in Chocolate City, and now my staff live and work here. My godchildren, two young Black boys live here, and they are afraid.

Afraid to walk to school, afraid to go to their summer jobs, afraid because Donald Trump himself has said that young people like them were, “born to be criminals.” 

It’s no secret, he’s targeting our immigrant neighbors and Black kids, specifically Black boys. That is dangerous, that is dehumanizing, and that rhetoric, combined with military presence, is meant to keep communities living in fear, which makes everyone less safe. 

Communities that should be celebrating the beauty of DC, joining together for summer block parties, listening to go-go music and finding joy in community. 

So let me make it plain: Donald Trump’s militarization of DC has nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with terror and intimidation. 

Trump showed us who he was decades ago when he called for the death penalty against five Black and brown boys accused of a crime they didn’t commit. When someone shows you who they are, believe them. 

So we are here speaking up and fighting back. This extremist march towards authoritarianism is an attack on Black and brown folks, a deliberate distraction from Donald Trump’s broken promises to lower costs, make housing more affordable, and to protect working people. 

We cannot ignore the structural racism at the heart of this crisis. 

The more than 700,000 residents of Washington, DC, who still don’t have full representation in the federal government. 

Working families that pay taxes. 

Veterans that serve this country. 

People that contribute to our communities, but are denied the most basic democratic rights. 

This racist, rogue militarization ignores their voices and makes us all less safe. 

DC has the lowest crime rate in 30 years before this occupation. And even still, we know there’s always work to do to make our cities more livable and safe, to make those investments to make people safer, to get at the root causes. 

But the policy solutions that actually fit the bill, they are summer jobs programs, federal action to prevent gun violence, and policies that meet folks’ basic needs like food and housing. 

This fight to free DC is a fight for justice, a fight for safety, a fight for our communities, and I’m proud to be in it with you. 

Free DC.

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