The Dictatorship
I’ve spent four decades in law enforcement. I’m not buying Trump’s claim that crime stats are wrong.
People familiar with the crime statistics in Washington immediately challenged President Donald Trump’s assertion that crime in the capital was “out of control” and thus warranted him sending in the National Guard. So the president responded on social media that “D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety. This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing!” Sure enough, Trump’s Department of Justice is now investigating whether the district’s Metropolitan Police Department manipulated crime data to make rates appear lower than reality.
It is unlikely that manipulation explains the district’s reported drop in crime. Because violent crime is down in big cities across the country.
It is true that a police commander, Michael chickenwas placed on paid administrative leave in May after allegations that he wrongly altered crime statistics in his district, and it’s true that the police union there has claimed that supervisors regularly direct arresting officers to “take a report for a lesser offense” instead of felonies. Trump-aligned legal groups have filed FOIA requests citing alleged manipulation and a settlement with a former police sergeant who sued over “misclassifying offenses.” But it is highly unlikely that manipulation explains the district’s reported drop in crime. Because violent crime is down in big cities across the country.
And it’s absolutely absurd for Trump to hold up 2023 statistics and say as he did at an Aug. 11 news conference that Washington’s murder rate is higher than “we can find anywhere in the world.” In 2023, Washington’s murder rate wasn’t even the highest in the United States, as reports show that at least six U.S. cities were worse.
When leaders make unfounded claims about data manipulation, the entire statistical infrastructure on which democracy depends is destroyed, and democracy experts characterize Trump’s use of false crime claims as following “the authoritarian playbook,” where “autocrats and demagogues use false claims of crime and disorder as pretexts to declare a permanent state of emergency and to suspend the rule of law.” Congressional Democrats warned of “a soft launch of authoritarianism” after Trump’s announcement, and NPR pointed out that civil rights leaders have warned that Trump’s actions in D.C. are “another beta test for nationwide authoritarian control” and “a testing ground for what they might attempt in any other jurisdiction.”
I’ve been in law enforcement more than four decades and served in leadership roles at the local, state and federal levels. Contrary to the president’s claims of manipulation, the evidence supporting the reliability of current crime reporting systems is — well, the only word for it is overwhelming.
The United States has two major crime measurement systems: the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and — the gold standard — the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. The UCR employs multiple validation layers through its Crime and Law Enforcement Statistics Unit, which “initially review[s] the data to determine adherence to UCR policy, conformance to UCR definitions and principles, and consistency with established statistical methodologies.” Before entering the national database, staff “use specialized edit functions to ensure that the data meet the established standards,” and, when errors are found or suspected, they obtain verification from submitting agencies.
Expert analysis by the highly regarded nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice notes that “attempts to cast doubt on the reliability of the numbers don’t hold up” and that the FBI’s annual report “is the most complete estimate of national statistics available.” The 2023 report, for instance, incorporated data from more than 16,000 local police agencies covering some 94% of the population.
Independent verification is vital to assuring accuracy. Thus, the UCR and the NCVS serve as a check and balance against each other. According to the Council on Criminal Justice, “both sources present similar long-term crime trends” and “much of the difference between the two sources stems from variations in methodology, rather than inaccuracies in the data.”
As if all this were not sufficient reason to trust FBI and NCVS statistics, the FBI conducts quality assurance reviews to “identify strengths and weaknesses in an agency’s reporting methods, thereby helping the agency to improve the accuracy of its crime data” and “assess the validity of an agency’s crime statistics.”
Who profits from Trump’s latest big lie? Those who are invested in undermining the home-rule government of the majority-Black and majority-Democrat District of Columbia.
But what about the District of Columbia specifically? Violence has been falling after a 2023 spike. Homicides fell 32% in 2024 and another 12% in 2025, while carjackings dropped 37% in 2025 despite Trump’s claims that they “tripled.” The DOJ itself reported in January 2025 that “violent crime for 2024 in the District of Columbia is down 35% from 2023 and is the lowest it has been in over 30 years.”
There’s no way to manipulate crime statistics down to that level.
Who profits from Trump’s latest big lie? The answer is obvious: those who are invested in undermining trust in the conduct of law enforcement, the rule of law and the home-rule government of the majority-Black and majority-Democrat District of Columbia.
The Trump administration is reaping a bumper crop of manipulation and lies sprouted from seeds that have been sown for years. Experts warn that “the decades-long effort in the conservative movement to undermine trust in key institutions” creates dangerous vulnerabilities, as “people must believe the health advice that they are getting from the CDC and other government agencies” and “receive (and trust) accurate information from major news organizations.”
Democracy can survive only on a solid foundation of the rule of law, which requires community trust and community buy-in. In D.C. today, local residents, particularly young people, report feeling “unsafe” due to the federal takeover, with college students saying “we’re afraid to go out because we’re afraid, one wrong step, one wrong move, off the crosswalk and I’m getting flagged down for something.”
The greatest monument to American democracy is not the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument or the U.S. Capitol and certainly not the White House. It is the legions of nonpartisan professional civil servants whose expert statistical and analytical stewardship accurately conveys the true state of the union from one day to the next. Their work is a thermometer of our national health. The instrument is not rigged or compromised, but it is fragile and demands our faithful and vigilant protection.
Cedric Alexander, a former commissioner of community safety in Minneapolis, is a law enforcement expert with over 40 years of experience in public safety. Alexander has also been deputy commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and an assistant professor at the University of Rochester department of psychiatry. He is a former national president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). He is the author of “The New Guardians: Policing in America’s Communities for the 21st Century” and “In Defense of Public Service: How 22 Million Government Workers Will Save Our Republic.”
President Donald Trump celebrating his 80th birthday with UFC fights on the White House lawn was classless enough. Then Josh Hokit was given a microphone. After the UFC fighter won his cage match at Trump’s flamboyant celebration Sunday night, Hokit, who spoke mostly in disturbingly trite rhymes after his win, managed to further degrade the event. At the conclusion of his post-fight interview with announcer, podcaster and manosphere extraordinaire Joe Rogan, the athlete declared,“Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
Many in the crowd of thousands of UFC fans ate it up, and expecting anything less would require an exceptional level of delusion. Misogynoir and transphobia have been lobbed against Obama at least since 2008, when America elected her husband, Barack Obama, president.
Misogynoir and transphobia have been lobbed against Obama at least since 2008, when America elected her husband, Barack Obama, president.
Misogynoir was coined by academic Moya Bailey in 2008 to describe the intertwining of racism and misogyny that targets Black women. As pervasive as it is, it took 15 yearsfor Merriam-Webster to add the word to its dictionary. Even in writing this piece, each time I’ve typed the term, spell-check suggests I have made a typo.
While it’s tempting to categorize Hokit’s remark as random, it was fully on brand for the athlete. ESPN reported, “In his post-fight interview at UFC 324 in January, Hokit called WNBA star Brittney Griner ‘a man.’”
He’s the poster child for misogynoir.
But his statement was also characteristic of the machismo that drove the event itself. Trump’s entire political persona is crafted in the mold of a strongmanan archetype that couldn’t exist without toxic masculinity. And when he was elected to the presidency a second time, Trump brought back to the forefront an erroneous vision of manhood. Hokit, and a lamentable number of other public figures, have since been empowered to espouse misogyny and preach the shallow gospel of toxic masculinity.
But showmanshiprepressed emotionality and a desperate adherence to benighted notions of manhood alone don’t suffice. Toxic masculinity also requires an allegiance to the desirability politics that are often informed by white supremacy. And Hokit gave it a shoutout Sunday night.
If toxic masculinity is a declaration of what we are expected to perceive as a quintessential depiction of manhood, then completing that picture requires a similar declaration about what we are expected to perceive as a quintessential depiction of womanhood. As has historically been the case, the beauty of Black women, as a whole, doesn’t align with mainstream ideals of attractiveness. So a Trump supporter’s recycling of a racist trope about the first Black first lady being a man was a natural offshoot of Sunday’s glorification of problematic masculinity.
Obama addressed misogynoir-laden and transphobic insults, among others, that she has faced over the years in her 2018 book “Becoming.” She writes, “I’ve smiled for photos with people who call my husband horrible names on national television, but still want a framed keepsake for their mantel. I’ve heard about the swampy parts of the internet that question everything about me, right down to whether I’m a woman or a man. A sitting U.S. congressman has made fun of my butt. I’ve been hurt. I’ve been furious. But mostly, I’ve tried to laugh this stuff off.”
I’ve been furious. But mostly, I’ve tried to laugh this stuff off.
michelle obama in her book “becoming”
Hokit thumping his chest after a violent brawl per the request of a strongman-in-chief, then deriding a high-profile Black female figure as masculine and thus, unappealing, was a true full-circle moment for the manosphere. Notice that Hokit didn’t do a full stop after he insulted Obama. He asked, “Am I right, America?”
At least that part made actual sense — Hokit’s instinct to seek validation is yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity. His question offered a boisterous representation of the need for male approval that exists in the manosphere and the willingness of problematic men to give one another an outsized influence on their behavior. It wasn’t enough for Hokit to disparage a prominent Black woman. He wanted someone to say, “Well done.”
As for his question, the answer is “no.” Hokit was the farthest from “right” as one gets. But the derision of Obama surely scored him brownie points in the manosphere. What better way to secure a nod of respect from the community than to denigrate, arguably, the most high-profile Black woman in the United States while at an event teeming with hypermasculinity?
But neither Obama nor any other woman, Black or otherwise, should have to bear the burden of men insulting them in a desperate quest to secure approbation from other men.
Hokit appears to be developing a habit of ascribing masculinity to Black women. He would be better served by questioning why his idea of manhood includes belittling women for applause.
Zahara Hill is a coordinating producer for MS NOW. She previously worked as a front page editor for HuffPost and the deputy editor for Blavity News.
President Donald Trump, with the support of Republicans in Congress, signed legislation last week funding federal immigration agencies through the end of his term. Americans should know how millions of their taxpayer dollars are being spent on the active destruction of their fellow human beings.
As part of my constitutional oversight responsibilities in Congress, I have visited Delaney Halla privately run detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, four times. From the first time I stepped into Delaney Hall, my worst fears were confirmed.
The smell of sewage permeated the building. The air felt stagnant, and I questioned whether there was adequate ventilation for detainees or staff.
What I witnessed with my own eyes was alarming enough. The smell of sewage permeated the building. The air felt stagnant, and I questioned whether there was adequate ventilation for detainees or staff. In the cafeteria, I saw a space that appeared far too small to accommodate the number of people being held. When I asked how hundreds of detainees were fed, I was told meals were served in waves beginning as early as 4 a.m.
Detainees described freezing temperatures, poor sanitation, spoiled food, isolation and being required to clean bathrooms and showers contaminated with urine and other biological waste without proper protective materials.
The most alarming thing I have witnessed, however, is the treatment — really, the lack of treatment — of people with serious and chronic medical conditions. I believe what I have witnessed at both Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center amounts to nothing short of medical abuse.
While the Department of Homeland Security leadership may try to wave away accusations of inhumane treatment, they cannot wave away the effect of their medical negligence — nor should they be allowed to. Every time I have visited both the Delaney and Elizabeth detention centers, I encountered detainees whose health was deteriorating because of the actions overseen by DHS employees and contractors. Individuals with chronic health conditions were not monitored, critical medications are given sporadically or not at all and there is little to no continuity of care for the medically vulnerable.
Individuals with chronic health conditions were not monitored, critical medications are given sporadically or not at all, and there is little to no continuity of care for the medically vulnerable.
One woman detained with diabetes told me she was receiving only a fraction of the medication prescribed by her doctor. When I questioned medical staff, they confirmed her dosage had been reduced shortly after she entered detention without first contacting her pharmacy or physician. They also confirmed blood sugar readings consistent with poorly controlled diabetes.
I spoke with a man who suffered ongoing headaches and hearing loss after striking his head in a fall. He told me he feared seeking additional medical care because he had been warned he could be placed in isolation if sent to the hospital. When I raised the issue with facility leadership, they confirmed isolation was their policy.
Other detainees have described to me equally disturbing experiences, including a woman who said she suffered a miscarriage while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after being denied proper medical care when symptoms first appeared. Another pregnant woman told me she feared for the health of her unborn child because she could not obtain the specialized care her condition requires.
These were not isolated complaints. And together, they paint a picture of a detention system failing to provide adequate medical care to the people in its custody.
The Department of Homeland Security insists healthcare is available inside Delaney Hall. What I witnessed firsthand tells a different story. Detainees may have access to care, but they are not receiving the care that their conditions, diagnoses, doctors or even our own good conscience would warrant.
When I questioned Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about whether ICE tracks detainees with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, whether those conditions are regularly monitored and whether independent health officials are allowed to inspect the facility, I did not receive answers. That lack of accountability should concern every American.
The consequences of these failures could be deadly. Severe hypoglycemia can become life-threatening within hours. Heart conditions can rapidly worsen without medication. Untreated infections can become medical emergencies, and the disruption of medication can have life-threatening consequences in the short and long run.
What makes this even more troubling is who is being detained.
Despite the administration’s rhetoric about targeting dangerous criminals, the people I met at Delaney Hall were overwhelmingly low-risk individuals being held for civil immigration violations, not criminal offenses. Some said they had legal status until this administration stripped it away. Others described being picked up off the street, or where they work, or at laundromats, schools and even outside courthouses or routine immigration appointments.
We cannot turn a blind eye to the conditions inside these facilities. Nor can we ignore the role of corporations such as the GEO Group, the company with an estimated $1 billion contract to operate Delaney Hall. Taxpayer dollars are being used to inflict profound human suffering, all too often condoned because those detained are viewed as “other.” To make matters worse, the $70 billion that Congress recently approved for ICE and Customs and Border Protection is in addition to $191 billion previously allocated to DHS with a party-line vote.
The least my Republican colleagues can do now is demand answers about what is happening inside facilities like Delaney Hall and hear firsthand from detainees about what they are experiencing. If they truly listen, they will be moved to action. I know I was.
Because the people I met at Delaney Hall are mothers, fathers, workers and neighbors. They are human beings. They deserve dignity, medical care and due process.
No matter where someone was born or what their immigration status may be, their humanity does not disappear when they enter a detention facility.
The measure of any nation is how it treats the people in its custody. By that standard, what is happening at Delaney Hall is a moral failure that extends far beyond its walls.
And when we allow due process, equal protection under the law and basic human rights to be denied to some, we weaken those protections for everyone. The Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to defend it. We must seek to protect it, starting by closing Delaney Hall.
Analilia Mejia, a Democrat, represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House.
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Russia’s latest deadly attack in Ukraine: “A large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine killed five rescuers in Kharkiv and wounded at least 20 people in the capital Kyiv on Monday as strikes set apartment buildings ablaze and sparked a fire at one of the country’s most significant religious landmarks. The rescuers were killed in Kharkiv by a second Russian strike as they fought a blaze caused by an earlier attack, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. At least five other emergency workers were wounded.”
* From late last week: “A joint strike by the United States and Venezuela killed a leader of the Tren de Aragua transnational gang, President Trump and officials in both countries said on Friday, dealing a blow to a syndicate the Trump administration has blamed for an influx of violent crime and illicit drugs.”
* The right way to do it: “Hungarian lawmakers on Monday passed a constitutional amendment that would ban Viktor Orbán from returning to power. The amendment, approved by 135 votes in favor and 50 against, would limit prime ministers to just eight years in office if it becomes law. The amendment is written to apply retroactively, meaning that Viktor Orbán could not return as Hungary’s prime minister. Orbán served as prime minister for a total of 20 years.”
* A case we have been keeping an eye on: “A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to reinstall exhibits and signs on topics like slavery and climate change that it had removed from parks and monuments nationwide because they ‘do not align with its preferred narrative.’”
* Trump’s Department of Justice does what Trump wants: “The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has signed off on Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. The approval, first reported by Blue Light News, clears a major regulatory hurdle for a deal that has become one of the most closely watched media merger reviews of the Trump era.”
* Failing to make America healthy again: “A relentless measles outbreak in Utah has been spreading for nearly a year, putting the U.S. on a path to losing the measles-elimination status it earned more than two decades ago. Fueling the nearly 12-month outbreak: more parents opting not to vaccinate their children for school; infections hitting communities statewide; and lenient public-health policies on quarantining exposed students.”
* McConnell’s health issues persist: “Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, was hospitalized on Sunday, according to his spokesperson, who provided no details on the former Senate majority leader’s condition.”
See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
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