Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
26%
5 of 19 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Thousands of members of the National Guard have been deployed by Donald Trump onto the streets of Washington, D.C. – but appear to be stopping little crime, according to a report.
uncertain
Thousands → deploy → report
Trump billed the huge deployment in August 2025 as an effort to tackle “out of control” crime in the city.
asserted
Trump → bill → city
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office later estimated that the troop rollout had already cost $223 million by the end of 2025.
asserted
rollout → estimate → 2025
However, according to Reuters, just 1.3 per cent of the criminal cases filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, which handles most of the city’s criminal prosecutions, mention the National Guard’s soldiers.
uncertain
which → accord → soldiers
“It’s like they brought people here from all across the country, just to be here,” Rev. Norman Nixon, the pastor at the Union Temple Baptist Church, told the outlet.
asserted
Nixon → ’ → outlet
“And they harass people a lot more than they are actually doing police work,” he alleged.
asserted
he → harass → work
An analysis of every available charging document filed at the court by Reuters found that the National Guard’s soldiers, who have been deputized as U.S. Marshals, responded mostly to whiter and wealthier neighborhoods in the city.
asserted
who → file → city
The outlet also found no references to soldiers conducting law enforcement in areas where around 82 percent of the city's 859 murders occurred over the past five years.
asserted
percent → find → years
Only 217 criminal cases in Washington D.C mentioned the National Guard.
asserted
cases → mention → Guard
In 62 of those cases, soldiers had stopped people suspected of committing crime single-handedly - often for cases involving minor crimes, such as shoplifting.
asserted
soldiers → stop → shoplifting
A spokesperson for the White House told the outlet that Trump had “driven down crime, beautified the city and improved quality of life for countless individuals,” when asked by the outlet about the soldiers' work.
asserted
Trump → tell → work
Typically, the National Guard is rolled out to respond to major crises, such as riots, or to provide security at major events.
asserted
Guard → roll → events
Trump announced the deployment of the National Guard after declaring a “public safety emergency” in August 2025.
“It’s becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness,” he told reporters, claiming that the city had been “taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.
asserted
city → announce → gangs
However, prior to the National Guard’s deployment in Washington, D.C., the murder rate in the city had actually fallen from 274 in 2023 to 187 in 2024, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
uncertain
rate → fall → Department
That number fell again to 127 in 2025.
asserted
number → fall → 2025
Meanwhile, violent crime actually rose by 4 percent from 2025 to 2026 despite the National Guard’s deployment, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
uncertain
crime → rise → Department
Maintaining the National Guard’s deployment in Washington, D.C. will cost an additional $1.4 billion through to the end of Trump’s term, according to information provided to Congress and reviewed by The Washington Post.
uncertain
Maintaining → maintain → Post
That figure covers the period spanning from October 2026 until January 2029.
asserted
figure → cover → January
The Independent has contacted the National Guard and the White House for comment.
asserted
Independent → contact → comment
The Aporia
