Pirro calls out DC laws letting 'young punks' off the hook for violent crimes

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Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., vowed to "change the laws" in D.C. to crack down on what she described as a surge of young people committing violent crimes in the nation's capital - part of a broader effort President Donald Trump announced Monday that includes deploying hundreds of National Guard troops and temporarily seizing control of D.C. police. 

Speaking at a White House press briefing Monday, Pirro lamented the share of crime in D.C. she said is being committed by so-called "young punks" in the city, whom she said are often granted probation or other lenient sentences due to their age. 

"That changes today," Pirro vowed, flanked by President Trump and other Cabinet members. 

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"I see too much violent crime being committed by young punks who think that they can get together in gangs and crews and beat the [heck] out of you or anyone else," Pirro said. "They don't care where they are."

"But they know that we can't touch them, because the laws are weak," she said. "I can't touch you if you're 14, 15, 16, 17 years old, and you have a gun." 

"We need to go after the DC Council and their absurd laws. We need to get rid of this concept of 'no cash bail,'" she said. "We need to recognize that the people who matter are the law-abiding citizens," Pirro added. "And it starts today."

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Pirro's remarks came during a broader press conference during which Trump also vowed to deploy hundreds of D.C. National Guard troops into the nation's capital, in a bid to "reestablish law order and public safety" in D.C.

Trump vowed on Truth Social just one day earlier to evict homeless persons from that nation's capital. "The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on social media. 

"We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong," he said on Truth Social.

Violent crime in DC dropped by roughly 32% from 2023 to 2024, according to preliminary figures compiled by the D.C. Police Department and released earlier this year.