September 18, 2025
Pressley Plays ‘Fact or Fiction,’ Slams Harmful Impact of Trump’s Militarization of Washington, DC
Federal Intervention has Disproportionately Criminalized Black and Brown Youth, Immigrant Families
“This is not about safety. This is about suppressing Black leadership, stopping Black progress, and criminalizing Black and brown youth.”
WASHINGTON – Today, in the House Oversight Committee, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) discussed the harmful impact of the Trump Administration’s military occupation of Washington, DC, which has disproportionately criminalized and endangered Black and brown youth, and done nothing to keep communities safe. Through a game of “Fact or Fiction,” Rep. Pressley slammed Trump and Republicans for pushing punitive, fear-based policies and passing legislation that would prosecute children in DC as adults, rather than investing in trauma-informed care and community violence intervention programs that are proven to disrupt cycles of violence.
A full transcript of Congresswoman Pressley’s exchange with witnesses today is below and the full video is available here.
Transcript: Pressley Plays ‘Fact or Fiction,’ Slams Harmful Impact of Trump’s Militarization of Washington, DC
US House of Representatives
September 18, 2025
REP. PRESSLEY: Thank you to our witnesses for being here today.
What we are seeing in this moment is chilling. The current Occupant of the White House is sending federal troops into this beautiful, majority-Black city.
And let’s be plain about who is being targeted:
In this year alone, more than 93 percent of youth arrests in D.C. were of Black youth. More than 40 percent of the arrests tied to this federal surge have been immigrants.
This is not about safety. This is about suppressing Black leadership, stopping Black progress, and criminalizing Black and brown youth.
Mr. Jackson, you have an expertise in reducing crime, specifically gun violence. And you have researched what works and actually keeps people safe.
We’ve heard a lot of rhetoric today – loud, inflammatory, dangerous, misleading at best. So let’s separate fact from fiction.
I’ll make a statement, and you’ll answer with: fact or fiction.
Let’s start.
A 14-year-old has a fully developed brain.
MR. JACKSON: Fiction.
REP. PRESSLEY: Yes, that’s FICTION. Easy.
Middle schoolers are still learning and growing. Science tells us the brain isn’t fully developed until our mid- to late-twenties, which means children do not have the same judgement, impulse control, or decision-making capacity as adults.
Yet just this week, Republicans passed legislation that would prosecute children as adults and send them to adult prisons. Children. In adult prisons.
Next question, Mr. Jackson.
Fact or Fiction: The criminal legal system incarcerates Black youth at disproportionately higher rates than white youth.
MR. JACKSON: Fact.
REP. PRESSLEY: Correct, that’s FACT.
Nationally, Black kids are six times as likely as white kids to be incarcerated.
In D.C., the focus of today’s hearing, the disparities are even more stark. Despite making up only 51% of the youth population, Black children in DC are 98% of youth confinement.
For too long, Black youth have been disproportionately criminalized, policed, and locked up for normal adolescent behavior rather than receiving the resources and support that are proven to help them grow and reach their full potential.
Last one Mr. Jackson.
Fact or Fiction: Trauma-informed strategies like community violence intervention help disrupt cycles of violence.
MR. JACKSON: Fact.
REP. PRESSLEY: Correct, that’s a FACT.
Investing in prevention, mental health, and community-based support keeps people safe. These are real, sustainable solutions.
In the Massachusetts 7th, which I represent, cities like Boston, which Trump has threatened to attack next – are partnering with organizations like the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute to make these investments and are seeing historic lows in crime as a result.
If Republicans were actually serious about reducing crime, they would follow that example.
But they are so unserious. Instead of going after predators and pedophiles like Jeffrey Epstein, they are going after children – passing policies to ship middle schoolers to adult prisons.
That is child abuse, and it is consistent with their pattern of abuse and neglect when it comes to all our children.
They let children go hungry by cutting SNAP.
They make children sicker by cutting Medicaid and taking away vaccines.
They strip environmental protections, leaving more kids gasping for air during asthma attacks.
They rip families apart with cruel immigration policies, as children watch their parents taken away from classroom windows.
And they ignore the strange fruit of young Black men like Trey Reed hanging from the trees of Mississippi.
Time and again, Republicans prove they are unserious about the care, the health, and the future of all our children.
They are invested only in fear and control, and that’s what they are doing here today. Republicans are certainly not keeping us safe.
Free DC.
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