Hundreds of protesters marched from Dupont Circle to the White House on Saturday, opposing President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy hundreds of National Guard troops across the city.

Protesters gathered at around 2 p.m. in over 90 degree heat with signs reading “Trump Must Go Now,” “Refuse Fascism” and “Free D.C.,” before marching over two miles to the White House, where speakers condemned the Trump administration’s historic move to assert federal control over D.C.’s police department. The demonstrators, equipped with whistles, megaphones and tall orange banners that read “We refuse to accept a fascist America” in both English and Spanish, called for Trump to remove National Guard troops immediately and to return control of the city’s police force back to local officials.

The protest — organized by Refuse Fascism, which anti-Trump protesters founded in the wake of the 2016 election — comes amid the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to crack down on crime in D.C. through federal intervention. Trump on Monday invoked Section 740 of D.C.’s Home Rule Act for the first time in history, which allows the president to assume federal control of the police under “conditions of an emergency nature.” Trump also deployed 800 D.C. National Guard troops to assist police as he promised to “rescue” the city from violent crime, despite violent crime dropping 35 percent in 2024, reaching a 30-year low for the city.

Emma Sherman, a rising sophomore majoring in political science, said she attended the Dupont Circle rally and participated in the march from Dupont to the White House because she wanted to be with the D.C. community as Trump exerts his control over the city. She said she stayed in D.C. over the summer and was shocked by Trump’s takeover of the MPD because she believes Trump is lying about the state of crime in the District.

“As we walked the streets, there were fellow D.C. residents just there cheering us on, recording us, hyping us up,” Sherman said.

Following a brief rally in Dupont Circle, the crowd — which had grown to several hundred protesters — began marching down Connecticut Avenue around 2:45 p.m., flanked by MPD officers on bikes and escorted by MPD cars closing intersections as protesters moved toward the White House. Demonstrators chanted demands for the Trump administration to remove National Guard troops from the city, protect immigrants and “release the Epstein files.” 

As the protest moved onto 17th Street past the Eisenhower Executive Office building and the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design’s Flagg Building, crowds of tourists and onlookers recorded the protesters as they turned onto Constitution Avenue. About two dozen Secret Service officers on bikes watched the protest from a distance at entrance points to the White House’s north and south lawns.

The only National Guard troops present during the demonstration were stationed on Constitution Avenue outside the gated entrance to the White House’s South Lawn. Protesters surrounded the handful of troops and their armored vehicle and chanted “Trump Must Go” and “Free D.C.” as the soldiers maintained their position.

One demonstrator screamed, “Never take orders from a pedophile,” at the group of National Guard troops.

Despite growing resistance to the Trump administration’s takeover of the city’s law enforcement, there are no signs the president will back down. In the last week, three governors — Mike DeWine of Ohio, Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia and Henry McMaster of South Carolina — announced they are sending troops from their state National Guards to D.C. at Trump’s request.

The three states, sending 150, 300 and 200 members, respectively, will nearly double the existing National Guard presence in the city, which currently stands at 800 members of the D.C. Guard. Trump also requested Vermont Governor Phil Scott send members of his state’s National Guard to D.C., but Scott declined.

The protest then moved up 15th Street and onto the pedestrian plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House around 4:10 p.m. Protesters moved up against the White House gates and continued chants calling for the Trump administration to back off of attempts to control the city.

The first speaker, who identified himself as “Tony G,” an immigrant rights activist, gave a speech in both Spanish and English. He said the demonstrators were “brave” to be walking that day, in support of “our people.” He said within D.C., many immigrants are afraid to call police for fear they could be detained.

“Every day is a wound to our community,” he said. “Every day is a call to action for all of us, immigrants and non-immigrants.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi attempted on Friday to replace D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith with Drug Enforcement Administrator Terry Cole as “emergency police commissioner” but backed down following a lawsuit brought by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb challenging the order.

Under an agreement reached Friday, Smith will remain chief, but the extent of federal control remains unclear. 

Bondi released guidance Thursday stating MPD needs to cooperate with ICE agents and reiterated the Trump administration’s demands for cooperation with ICE following the Friday hearing. Throughout last week, immigration officers conducted raids leading to immigrant arrests across the District. 

The second speaker, Carl Dix, a member of the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity, said Trump used racist stereotypes when speaking about crime in D.C., making it clear the president intended to target Black residents. 

“Who the hell was he talking about when he said ‘marauding mobs of young gangsters?’” Dix said. “He was talking about Black people because, in Trump’s mind, his genocidal, racist mind, Black people are always criminal.”

Dix said people should ask themselves what person they are going to be, going on to encourage the crowd to stand up for others who may not be able to stand up for themselves. He said people should be prepared to go to jail and make sacrifices.

“You’ve got to put stuff on the line,” Dix said. “Because something more important is already on the line. Your very f*cking humanity is on the line.”

Corey Teague, the last speaker and member of the National Action Network, a civil rights organization, referenced the Declaration of Independence in his speech. He said the declaration’s call to rise up against a government that does not represent the people is especially prudent today.

Teague said Trump’s actions are “not for us,” adding that as long as Trump remains in office, people will continue to go “through hell.”

“But if you’re committed like I’m committed, we’re going to hit the streets every god d*mn day,” Teague said. “Until this man says, ‘You know what, I f*cking give up. I gotta leave, I can’t deal with this anymore.’”