Trump's crackdown on DC homeless encampments begins
Christopher Cann,
USA TODAY
Sat, August 16, 2025
WASHINGTON – Under the blazing summer sun, people living in Washington's homeless encampments packed up their belongings before authorities moved in with garbage trucks on Aug. 14, as President Donald Trump's crackdown on the nation's capital ramps up.
At an encampment a few miles from the Lincoln Memorial and the Kennedy Center, a group of a dozen people broke down their tents and stuffed their clothes in garbage bags with the help of city workers and local homeless advocacy groups. The tents that remained – and everything in them – were soon bulldozed and taken to a landfill.
“(The president) is targeting us and persecuting us,” said David Beatty, a homeless man living in the encampment that Trump posted a photo of on social media last week. “He wants to take our freedom away.”
The moves come days after Trump assumed federal control of the city’s police department and mobilized the National Guard, declaring a "crime emergency" and vowing to clear homeless people off the streets of DC. As more federal agents and National Guard troops are brought into Washington, local officials and social workers have sought to get ahead of the anticipated operations.
The push to clear encampments also comes as cities across the United States, including longtime Democratic strongholds such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, have also seen an increase in homeless sweeps and encampment closures.
A landmark 2024 Supreme Court decision that allowed laws banning people from sleeping outside, even if they have nowhere else to go, led to a broad crackdown on homelessness in California, and in dozens of cities, towns and rural communities nationwide.
David Beatty and other residents of a homeless encampment near the Kennedy Center in Washington clear their tents with the help of advocates.
City boosts shelter space as encampments are broken up
In mid-August, workers with the DC Department of Human Services visited each of the known encampments, warning of the impending crackdown and offering residents beds in local shelters and storage space.
The speedy operations came with little warning and have left the city's homeless population scrambling for places to go. Some plan to move into shelters, while others say they're going to go to neighboring states like Virginia or Maryland. A few said they will continue to wander the city hoping they will stumble on a safe place to sleep.
“I haven’t known what’s next for so long that it’s part of normal life at this point,” said Jesse Wall, 43, who was forced to pack up his tent and leave the encampment he's lived in for the last several months. "We'll see what happens."
In anticipation of a sweeping clampdown on homelessness, the city’s human services department added about 70 beds to shelters and expanded storage space to hold people's possessions that they can’t carry with them on the street, said Rachel Pierre, acting director of the agency.
She said shelters were full when the president's order came down, but that the agency is prepared to open up more beds and storage facilities if they need to.
"What we are committed to is that we don't turn anybody away from shelter right now," Pierre said.
Trump's unprecedented show of force in L.A., Washington is pushing norms, sparking fears
Since the pandemic, the number of people living in DC's homeless encampments has declined by two-thirds, said Wayne Turnage, deputy mayor of the city's Department of Health and Human Services.
This year alone, the U.S. Park Police have disbanded about 70 encampments from federal parks in the city, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The last two still standing will be broken down this week, she added.
There are still many homeless people who are not living in encampments, local advocate groups say. In January, the city counted 900 people living on the streets during a one-night survey.
Advocates warn that encampment sweeps don't address the root causes of homelessness and only make the crisis worse by forcing people into a cycle of jail, debt and living on the streets.
“Fines, arrests, and encampment evictions make homelessness worse, further traumatize our homeless neighbors while disconnecting them from community and support," said Dana White, director of advocacy for Miriam’s Kitchen, a local organization that works with homeless people. “If policing resolved homelessness, we wouldn’t have homelessness here in DC or anywhere else in this country.”
DC's homeless communities face uncertain future
On Aug. 14, Wall stuffed his clothes, his rolled-up sleeping bag and a folder of important documents in silver trash bags. The night before, he came home to find a note tacked on to his tent saying the encampment he's called home for the last few months would be taken down the following morning.
After packing up, he and several of his neighbors milled around the grassy median where they live, discussing what they will do next and where to go.
Wall, who moved into a tent nearly a year ago, told USA TODAY he might stay at a shelter for a few nights. Beyond that, he’s not sure where he’ll end up.
“It’s cruel,” he said of the sweeping order and push to move people off the streets.
Beatty, who has been homeless in DC for several years, said he may go to Virginia to avoid the federal crackdown.
“I don’t know how far of a walk that is,” he said, as a bulldozer began tearing through a nearby tent.
Contributing: Karissa Waddick
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Washington DC cracks down on homeless encampments
Sat, August 16, 2025
WASHINGTON – Under the blazing summer sun, people living in Washington's homeless encampments packed up their belongings before authorities moved in with garbage trucks on Aug. 14, as President Donald Trump's crackdown on the nation's capital ramps up.
At an encampment a few miles from the Lincoln Memorial and the Kennedy Center, a group of a dozen people broke down their tents and stuffed their clothes in garbage bags with the help of city workers and local homeless advocacy groups. The tents that remained – and everything in them – were soon bulldozed and taken to a landfill.
“(The president) is targeting us and persecuting us,” said David Beatty, a homeless man living in the encampment that Trump posted a photo of on social media last week. “He wants to take our freedom away.”
The moves come days after Trump assumed federal control of the city’s police department and mobilized the National Guard, declaring a "crime emergency" and vowing to clear homeless people off the streets of DC. As more federal agents and National Guard troops are brought into Washington, local officials and social workers have sought to get ahead of the anticipated operations.
The push to clear encampments also comes as cities across the United States, including longtime Democratic strongholds such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, have also seen an increase in homeless sweeps and encampment closures.
A landmark 2024 Supreme Court decision that allowed laws banning people from sleeping outside, even if they have nowhere else to go, led to a broad crackdown on homelessness in California, and in dozens of cities, towns and rural communities nationwide.
David Beatty and other residents of a homeless encampment near the Kennedy Center in Washington clear their tents with the help of advocates.
City boosts shelter space as encampments are broken up
In mid-August, workers with the DC Department of Human Services visited each of the known encampments, warning of the impending crackdown and offering residents beds in local shelters and storage space.
The speedy operations came with little warning and have left the city's homeless population scrambling for places to go. Some plan to move into shelters, while others say they're going to go to neighboring states like Virginia or Maryland. A few said they will continue to wander the city hoping they will stumble on a safe place to sleep.
“I haven’t known what’s next for so long that it’s part of normal life at this point,” said Jesse Wall, 43, who was forced to pack up his tent and leave the encampment he's lived in for the last several months. "We'll see what happens."
In anticipation of a sweeping clampdown on homelessness, the city’s human services department added about 70 beds to shelters and expanded storage space to hold people's possessions that they can’t carry with them on the street, said Rachel Pierre, acting director of the agency.
She said shelters were full when the president's order came down, but that the agency is prepared to open up more beds and storage facilities if they need to.
"What we are committed to is that we don't turn anybody away from shelter right now," Pierre said.
Trump's unprecedented show of force in L.A., Washington is pushing norms, sparking fears
Since the pandemic, the number of people living in DC's homeless encampments has declined by two-thirds, said Wayne Turnage, deputy mayor of the city's Department of Health and Human Services.
This year alone, the U.S. Park Police have disbanded about 70 encampments from federal parks in the city, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The last two still standing will be broken down this week, she added.
There are still many homeless people who are not living in encampments, local advocate groups say. In January, the city counted 900 people living on the streets during a one-night survey.
Advocates warn that encampment sweeps don't address the root causes of homelessness and only make the crisis worse by forcing people into a cycle of jail, debt and living on the streets.
“Fines, arrests, and encampment evictions make homelessness worse, further traumatize our homeless neighbors while disconnecting them from community and support," said Dana White, director of advocacy for Miriam’s Kitchen, a local organization that works with homeless people. “If policing resolved homelessness, we wouldn’t have homelessness here in DC or anywhere else in this country.”
DC's homeless communities face uncertain future
On Aug. 14, Wall stuffed his clothes, his rolled-up sleeping bag and a folder of important documents in silver trash bags. The night before, he came home to find a note tacked on to his tent saying the encampment he's called home for the last few months would be taken down the following morning.
After packing up, he and several of his neighbors milled around the grassy median where they live, discussing what they will do next and where to go.
Wall, who moved into a tent nearly a year ago, told USA TODAY he might stay at a shelter for a few nights. Beyond that, he’s not sure where he’ll end up.
“It’s cruel,” he said of the sweeping order and push to move people off the streets.
Beatty, who has been homeless in DC for several years, said he may go to Virginia to avoid the federal crackdown.
“I don’t know how far of a walk that is,” he said, as a bulldozer began tearing through a nearby tent.
Contributing: Karissa Waddick
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Washington DC cracks down on homeless encampments
DC police clear homeless encampments at direction of federal government
Daniel Hamburg
Fri, August 15, 2025
Scroll back up to restore default view.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Several homeless encampments were cleared by D.C. police on Friday with orders from the federal government, part of President Donald Trump’s federal takeover in the District.
One of the sites cleared is at Washington Circle, where, on Thursday night, more than a dozen federal law enforcement agents tried to close an encampment.
Those agents left after being shown a notice from the office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) saying they would clear the space on Monday, Aug. 18.
“The District had a scheduled engagement to close the site at Washington Circle on August 18. However, today, federal officials chose to execute the closure at the site and several others,” a DMHHS spokesperson said. “Ahead of anticipated federal actions, the District has been proactively working with residents experiencing homelessness to connect them to shelter and services.”
Advocates working closely with people experiencing homelessness were caught off guard.
“They were shocking, and they were lightning fast. And we were not expecting it to go the way that it was,” said Andy Wassenich, director of policy for Miriam’s Kitchen.
Wassenich watched as the Department of Public Works trashed tents and belongings left unattended.
“Folks who weren’t there, their tents were just thrown away. There was one person who was there this morning, and she was able to pack up her stuff and move on. And I think we were able to get her in a hotel for at least a couple of nights,” Wassenich said.
He’s referring to Meghann Abraham, whom DC News Now talked with on Thursday night.
“We’re just normal people out here working, trying to do well, and things like this is really–to pack up every belonging I have and move to someplace else, like that’s a stress that shouldn’t exist,” Abraham said.
Wassenich said five or six encampments were cleared, including one near 26th and L streets.
“People have no choice but to sleep outside. Rent in D.C. for an average 1-bedroom is $2,300 a month,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, communications director with the National Homelessness Law Center.
DMHHS said it “has and continues to offer transportation to shelter, storage of items, access to behavioral health and/or medical care, case management and connection to other services as needed.”
“What we’re hearing and understanding is that it’s done for now, but that people can still be engaged by the police, right? And asked to move along,” Wassenich said.
Wassenich said people from Miriam’s Kitchen will be out this weekend to connect people to shelters.
“What we’re in the business of trying to do is to connect people to services and spend time one-on-one with folks, like getting people to their appointments with other case managers, housing case managers, mental health, like doing the things that they need to do to get stabilized,” Wassenich said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daniel Hamburg
Thu, August 14, 2025
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Federal agents are attempting to clear homeless encampments in D.C.
Tuesday night, more than a dozen agents with the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations descended on three tents on the west side of Washington Circle.
Lawyers with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless pointed out to a U.S. Secret Service police officer that there were notices posted Thursday morning by the DC Department of Health and Human Services that people living in the tents had until Monday, Aug. 18, to leave.
The agents left within about 15 minutes without saying why.
“When encampments are cleared and people aren’t moved into housing, they still have nowhere else to go and they’re still going to experience homelessness,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, communications director for the National Homelessness Law Center. “So this is not a long-term solution at all. This is clearly a PR stunt by the Trump administration.”
It’s part of President Trump’s Executive Order to clear homeless encampments in D.C.
Dozens are scattered across the city.
“Vagrancy and homelessness is not a crime in D.C., so I was at Martin Luther King Library, and they moved us out from there. And then I went to like a Catholic Church and was in there, and then they moved us from there, and now I’m here,” said Meghan Abraham. “I just got my associate’s degree. I live with my boyfriend. He works five days a week. We just can’t afford $2,000 for a studio apartment. This is a stepping stone for us. We’re not criminals. We’re not drug addicts. We don’t like shelters because they put you in with like the craziest people off the street and make you stay in a room with them and just expect you to get along and be grateful for it.”
D.C. Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage said he doesn’t know how many sites the federal government plans to close.
“Our job is to offer connections to homeless services. We’re not out here to arrest anybody. That’s not our role… We will provide storage opportunities if they have stuff they want to store,” Turnage said.
Turnage said the D.C. Department of Health and Human Services does not clear encampments at night.
“If they’re (the federal government) leading the closure and we’re providing support, then we provide that support whenever they decide to close a site,” Turnage said. “That’s not the way we’ve operated. That’s not part of our protocol to come out at night and close sites. But we can surely provide support if the Park Service wants to close a site at night.”
Turnage said 60 beds were opened last week, and about 30 beds are still open. He said capacity is not an issue, however, and if there is a need, they will open beds.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Federal sweep of DC homeless encampments sparks tension as Trump takeover continues
Stephanie Ramirez
Fri, August 15, 2025
Daniel Hamburg
Fri, August 15, 2025
Scroll back up to restore default view.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Several homeless encampments were cleared by D.C. police on Friday with orders from the federal government, part of President Donald Trump’s federal takeover in the District.
One of the sites cleared is at Washington Circle, where, on Thursday night, more than a dozen federal law enforcement agents tried to close an encampment.
Those agents left after being shown a notice from the office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) saying they would clear the space on Monday, Aug. 18.
“The District had a scheduled engagement to close the site at Washington Circle on August 18. However, today, federal officials chose to execute the closure at the site and several others,” a DMHHS spokesperson said. “Ahead of anticipated federal actions, the District has been proactively working with residents experiencing homelessness to connect them to shelter and services.”
Advocates working closely with people experiencing homelessness were caught off guard.
“They were shocking, and they were lightning fast. And we were not expecting it to go the way that it was,” said Andy Wassenich, director of policy for Miriam’s Kitchen.
Wassenich watched as the Department of Public Works trashed tents and belongings left unattended.
“Folks who weren’t there, their tents were just thrown away. There was one person who was there this morning, and she was able to pack up her stuff and move on. And I think we were able to get her in a hotel for at least a couple of nights,” Wassenich said.
He’s referring to Meghann Abraham, whom DC News Now talked with on Thursday night.
“We’re just normal people out here working, trying to do well, and things like this is really–to pack up every belonging I have and move to someplace else, like that’s a stress that shouldn’t exist,” Abraham said.
Wassenich said five or six encampments were cleared, including one near 26th and L streets.
“People have no choice but to sleep outside. Rent in D.C. for an average 1-bedroom is $2,300 a month,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, communications director with the National Homelessness Law Center.
DMHHS said it “has and continues to offer transportation to shelter, storage of items, access to behavioral health and/or medical care, case management and connection to other services as needed.”
“What we’re hearing and understanding is that it’s done for now, but that people can still be engaged by the police, right? And asked to move along,” Wassenich said.
Wassenich said people from Miriam’s Kitchen will be out this weekend to connect people to shelters.
“What we’re in the business of trying to do is to connect people to services and spend time one-on-one with folks, like getting people to their appointments with other case managers, housing case managers, mental health, like doing the things that they need to do to get stabilized,” Wassenich said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Trump's 'safe and beautiful' move against DC homeless camps looks like ugliness to those targeted
JACQUELYN MARTIN, NATHAN ELLGREN, MEG KINNARD and CALVIN WOODWARD
Thu, August 14, 2025
George, 67, walks away with what's left of his belongings, after the city put his mattress and other belongings in a garbage truck, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ms. Jay didn't wait for the authorities to come before packing her tent and carrying what belongings she could across Pennsylvania Avenue on her way to whatever comes next.
She’d been living her “Girl Scout life,” she said, saving money and looking for work while homeless. When she got word that the law was on its way, she found herself living the scouting motto: Be prepared.
“Last night was so scary,” she said, recalling when federal law officers, in concert with local police, began fanning out across Washington to uproot homeless encampments. “I don’t want to be the one to wait until the last moment and then have to rush out.”
President Donald Trump's housecleaning started with official Washington and the denizens of its marbled buildings, back in the bureaucracy-scouring days of the Department of Government Efficiency. Now he is taking on the other side of Washington, having sent some 800 National Guard troops to help local police go after crime, grime and makeshift homeless encampments.
First came the spring cleaning
Back in early spring, Trump's efforts upended the U.S. Institute of Peace, among other institutions and departments. On Thursday, authorities brought in an earth mover to clear out an encampment within sight of that hollowed-out institute's handsome Constitution Avenue headquarters.
The mission to clean the capital of criminal elements and ragged edges comes under Trump's Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force. Some in D.C. believe a different kind of ugliness is playing out.
“From the White House, the president sees a lawless wasteland,” said leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. “We see fellow human beings — neighbors, workers, friends and family — each made in the image of God.”
For Andrew S., 61, the ugliness came Wednesday when agents he identified as being with the federal government treated him like an eyesore. They asked him to move from his resting place along the route where Trump would be driven to the Kennedy Center.
“You have to move because you’re in eyesight of the president,” Andrew, originally from Baltimore, said he was told. He added, “I didn’t really take it serious until today, but the president really doesn’t want us here.”
He, Ms. Jay and some others interviewed and photographed by The Associated Press declined to give their full names in the midst of the heavy law enforcement presence in Washington.
Saying goodbye to his belongings
At the encampment near the peace institute, a man named George, 67, walked away Thursday carrying an umbrella in one hand and a garbage bag with some of his belongings in the other. City workers put his mattress and other possessions in a garbage truck idling nearby. He waved goodbye to it.
It was that kind of day for others at the same site, too.
“I have known homelessness for so long that it is part of normal life at this point,” Jesse Wall, 43, said as he cleared his belongings Thursday from the site near the peace institute. “What are you trying to prove here?” Wall asked, as if speaking with the law.
JACQUELYN MARTIN, NATHAN ELLGREN, MEG KINNARD and CALVIN WOODWARD
Thu, August 14, 2025
George, 67, walks away with what's left of his belongings, after the city put his mattress and other belongings in a garbage truck, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ms. Jay didn't wait for the authorities to come before packing her tent and carrying what belongings she could across Pennsylvania Avenue on her way to whatever comes next.
She’d been living her “Girl Scout life,” she said, saving money and looking for work while homeless. When she got word that the law was on its way, she found herself living the scouting motto: Be prepared.
“Last night was so scary,” she said, recalling when federal law officers, in concert with local police, began fanning out across Washington to uproot homeless encampments. “I don’t want to be the one to wait until the last moment and then have to rush out.”
President Donald Trump's housecleaning started with official Washington and the denizens of its marbled buildings, back in the bureaucracy-scouring days of the Department of Government Efficiency. Now he is taking on the other side of Washington, having sent some 800 National Guard troops to help local police go after crime, grime and makeshift homeless encampments.
First came the spring cleaning
Back in early spring, Trump's efforts upended the U.S. Institute of Peace, among other institutions and departments. On Thursday, authorities brought in an earth mover to clear out an encampment within sight of that hollowed-out institute's handsome Constitution Avenue headquarters.
The mission to clean the capital of criminal elements and ragged edges comes under Trump's Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force. Some in D.C. believe a different kind of ugliness is playing out.
“From the White House, the president sees a lawless wasteland,” said leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. “We see fellow human beings — neighbors, workers, friends and family — each made in the image of God.”
For Andrew S., 61, the ugliness came Wednesday when agents he identified as being with the federal government treated him like an eyesore. They asked him to move from his resting place along the route where Trump would be driven to the Kennedy Center.
“You have to move because you’re in eyesight of the president,” Andrew, originally from Baltimore, said he was told. He added, “I didn’t really take it serious until today, but the president really doesn’t want us here.”
He, Ms. Jay and some others interviewed and photographed by The Associated Press declined to give their full names in the midst of the heavy law enforcement presence in Washington.
Saying goodbye to his belongings
At the encampment near the peace institute, a man named George, 67, walked away Thursday carrying an umbrella in one hand and a garbage bag with some of his belongings in the other. City workers put his mattress and other possessions in a garbage truck idling nearby. He waved goodbye to it.
It was that kind of day for others at the same site, too.
“I have known homelessness for so long that it is part of normal life at this point,” Jesse Wall, 43, said as he cleared his belongings Thursday from the site near the peace institute. “What are you trying to prove here?” Wall asked, as if speaking with the law.
“That you’re a bully?”
David Beatty, 67, had been living at that encampment for several months. On Thursday, he watched as parts of it were roped off. Beatty and others were allowed to pack up what they could before the heavy machinery cleared remaining items from the area and dumped them into trucks and receptacles.
What about the Golden Rule?
He quoted a variation of the Bible's Golden Rule — “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — and said, “The idea that he’s targeting us and persecuting us feels wrong to me.”
Much of the clearing out Thursday was at the hands of local police. D.C. officials knew federal authorities would be dismantling all homeless encampments if local police didn't. Wayne Turnage, a deputy mayor, said the district has a process to do it “the way it should be done.”
The expectation was clear, if not overtly stated: Local police would go about the work in a more humane way than the feds.
Jesse Rabinowitz from the National Homelessness Law Center said that, according to the briefing he received on the operation, people would be given the choice to leave or be detained at eight federal and 54 local sites. The intent, Rabinowitz said he believed, was to trash tents in the daylight (because authorities want the public to see that) and do the bulk of arrests in darkness (because they don't want that widely seen).
Once penniless, he's now an advocate
Born and raised in Washington, Wesley Thomas spent nearly three decades on the streets, struggling with drug addiction, until other homeless people and charitable organizations helped him get clean through therapy and back on his feet.
Now he has had a place to live for eight years and works as an advocate for a nonprofit group that supported him, Miriam's Kitchen, where he's helped dozens find housing.
“The first day I was out there I was penniless, homeless, frightened, only the clothing on my back, didn’t know where I was gonna sleep nor eat,” he said. “Fortunately, there were some homeless people in the area, gave me blankets, showed me a safe place, St. John’s Church, to rest my head for the night.”
St. John's is across from Lafayette Park, which is across from the White House. It is known as the Church of the Presidents, because its sanctuary has seen all presidents since James Madison in the early 1800s.
Thomas wanted the public to know that most of the people being moved off are not “uneducated, dumb or stupid,” even if they are down on their luck. “You got doctors, lawyers, businessmen, Navy SEALs, veterans, mailmen,” he said.
“Poor people come in all races, ethnicities and colors.”
___
Kinnard reported from South Carolina. Associated Press journalist River Zhang contributed reporting.
David Beatty, 67, had been living at that encampment for several months. On Thursday, he watched as parts of it were roped off. Beatty and others were allowed to pack up what they could before the heavy machinery cleared remaining items from the area and dumped them into trucks and receptacles.
What about the Golden Rule?
He quoted a variation of the Bible's Golden Rule — “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — and said, “The idea that he’s targeting us and persecuting us feels wrong to me.”
Much of the clearing out Thursday was at the hands of local police. D.C. officials knew federal authorities would be dismantling all homeless encampments if local police didn't. Wayne Turnage, a deputy mayor, said the district has a process to do it “the way it should be done.”
The expectation was clear, if not overtly stated: Local police would go about the work in a more humane way than the feds.
Jesse Rabinowitz from the National Homelessness Law Center said that, according to the briefing he received on the operation, people would be given the choice to leave or be detained at eight federal and 54 local sites. The intent, Rabinowitz said he believed, was to trash tents in the daylight (because authorities want the public to see that) and do the bulk of arrests in darkness (because they don't want that widely seen).
Once penniless, he's now an advocate
Born and raised in Washington, Wesley Thomas spent nearly three decades on the streets, struggling with drug addiction, until other homeless people and charitable organizations helped him get clean through therapy and back on his feet.
Now he has had a place to live for eight years and works as an advocate for a nonprofit group that supported him, Miriam's Kitchen, where he's helped dozens find housing.
“The first day I was out there I was penniless, homeless, frightened, only the clothing on my back, didn’t know where I was gonna sleep nor eat,” he said. “Fortunately, there were some homeless people in the area, gave me blankets, showed me a safe place, St. John’s Church, to rest my head for the night.”
St. John's is across from Lafayette Park, which is across from the White House. It is known as the Church of the Presidents, because its sanctuary has seen all presidents since James Madison in the early 1800s.
Thomas wanted the public to know that most of the people being moved off are not “uneducated, dumb or stupid,” even if they are down on their luck. “You got doctors, lawyers, businessmen, Navy SEALs, veterans, mailmen,” he said.
“Poor people come in all races, ethnicities and colors.”
___
Kinnard reported from South Carolina. Associated Press journalist River Zhang contributed reporting.
Federal agents attempt to clear DC homeless encampment
Daniel Hamburg
Thu, August 14, 2025
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Federal agents are attempting to clear homeless encampments in D.C.
Tuesday night, more than a dozen agents with the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations descended on three tents on the west side of Washington Circle.
Lawyers with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless pointed out to a U.S. Secret Service police officer that there were notices posted Thursday morning by the DC Department of Health and Human Services that people living in the tents had until Monday, Aug. 18, to leave.
The agents left within about 15 minutes without saying why.
“When encampments are cleared and people aren’t moved into housing, they still have nowhere else to go and they’re still going to experience homelessness,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, communications director for the National Homelessness Law Center. “So this is not a long-term solution at all. This is clearly a PR stunt by the Trump administration.”
It’s part of President Trump’s Executive Order to clear homeless encampments in D.C.
Dozens are scattered across the city.
“Vagrancy and homelessness is not a crime in D.C., so I was at Martin Luther King Library, and they moved us out from there. And then I went to like a Catholic Church and was in there, and then they moved us from there, and now I’m here,” said Meghan Abraham. “I just got my associate’s degree. I live with my boyfriend. He works five days a week. We just can’t afford $2,000 for a studio apartment. This is a stepping stone for us. We’re not criminals. We’re not drug addicts. We don’t like shelters because they put you in with like the craziest people off the street and make you stay in a room with them and just expect you to get along and be grateful for it.”
D.C. Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage said he doesn’t know how many sites the federal government plans to close.
“Our job is to offer connections to homeless services. We’re not out here to arrest anybody. That’s not our role… We will provide storage opportunities if they have stuff they want to store,” Turnage said.
Turnage said the D.C. Department of Health and Human Services does not clear encampments at night.
“If they’re (the federal government) leading the closure and we’re providing support, then we provide that support whenever they decide to close a site,” Turnage said. “That’s not the way we’ve operated. That’s not part of our protocol to come out at night and close sites. But we can surely provide support if the Park Service wants to close a site at night.”
Turnage said 60 beds were opened last week, and about 30 beds are still open. He said capacity is not an issue, however, and if there is a need, they will open beds.
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Federal sweep of DC homeless encampments sparks tension as Trump takeover continues
Stephanie Ramirez
Fri, August 15, 2025
FOX NEWS
The Brief
Multi-agency teams — including FBI, Secret Service, and D.C. police — began clearing homeless encampments Thursday night as part of President Trump’s order to remove them from the nation’s capital.
Legal aid groups temporarily stopped some removals, citing a city notice allowing residents until Monday to vacate, while warning that those who refuse could face fines or arrest.
With only about 30 single-adult shelter beds available citywide, advocates are urging churches to open doors and residents to document sweeps, while officials say services for addiction and mental health are being offered.
WASHINGTON - A federal sweep of homeless encampments that began Thursday is triggering concerns among advocates who fear homeless residents across the city could face arrest or be committed during President Donald Trump’s takeover of the nation’s capital.
Sweep of encampments
What we know
FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez said a few tents remained Friday morning near Washington Circle, just outside George Washington University Hospital after a tense and emotional scene on Thursday when law enforcement arrived around 9 p.m.
About a dozen D.C. police officers, along with FBI and Secret Service agents, moved in to clear the area. However, attorneys from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless successfully argued to keep some tents in place, citing a notice issued just one day earlier by the D.C. Department of Health and Human Services requiring residents to vacate by Monday. It’s unclear whether that will hold through the weekend.
Trump has called for the removal of encampments, calling them dirty and bad for business during visits from foreign leaders. While city officials acknowledge health and safety concerns, they say D.C.’s HHS department routinely monitors these sites and is better equipped to offer services.
What they're saying
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) issued the following statement:
The District had a scheduled engagement to close the site at Washington Circle on August 18. However, today, federal officials chose to execute the closure at the site and several others. Ahead of anticipated federal actions, the District has been proactively working with residents experiencing homelessness to connect them to shelter and services. The District has and continues to offer transportation to shelter, storage of items, access to behavioral health and/or medical care, case management and connection to other services as needed. In many cases, we’ve been able to help residents accept offers of shelter. Impacted Washingtonians who seek shelter will not be turned away, as DC is able to expand shelter capacity as needed. DC will continue to support residents with wraparound social services, but the planned engagements are otherwise the purview of the federal agencies.
A White House official confirmed to FOX 5 DC that three multi-agency teams were assigned to begin clearing homeless encampments in the District. Homeless individuals will be allowed to leave the area, be taken to a homeless shelter or offered addiction and mental health services. Anyone who refuses to leave the area could receive fines or jail time.
The official confirmed that over 70 homeless encampments had been removed by U.S. Park Police since March.
Services available
On Thursday, city officials oversaw the clearing of an encampment between the Kennedy Center and the Washington Monument, citing emergency provisions due to its proximity to the highway. A city spokesperson said they acted early, believing federal authorities would target the location next and that local agencies could provide more support to those displaced.
As of Wednesday, D.C. officials reported roughly 1,100 shelter beds available for single adults, with only about 30 open. Legal advocates are urging churches to open their doors and asking residents to safely document any sweeps they witness.
The Source
Information in this article comes from previous FOX 5 reporting.
The Brief
Multi-agency teams — including FBI, Secret Service, and D.C. police — began clearing homeless encampments Thursday night as part of President Trump’s order to remove them from the nation’s capital.
Legal aid groups temporarily stopped some removals, citing a city notice allowing residents until Monday to vacate, while warning that those who refuse could face fines or arrest.
With only about 30 single-adult shelter beds available citywide, advocates are urging churches to open doors and residents to document sweeps, while officials say services for addiction and mental health are being offered.
WASHINGTON - A federal sweep of homeless encampments that began Thursday is triggering concerns among advocates who fear homeless residents across the city could face arrest or be committed during President Donald Trump’s takeover of the nation’s capital.
Sweep of encampments
What we know
FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez said a few tents remained Friday morning near Washington Circle, just outside George Washington University Hospital after a tense and emotional scene on Thursday when law enforcement arrived around 9 p.m.
About a dozen D.C. police officers, along with FBI and Secret Service agents, moved in to clear the area. However, attorneys from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless successfully argued to keep some tents in place, citing a notice issued just one day earlier by the D.C. Department of Health and Human Services requiring residents to vacate by Monday. It’s unclear whether that will hold through the weekend.
Trump has called for the removal of encampments, calling them dirty and bad for business during visits from foreign leaders. While city officials acknowledge health and safety concerns, they say D.C.’s HHS department routinely monitors these sites and is better equipped to offer services.
What they're saying
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) issued the following statement:
The District had a scheduled engagement to close the site at Washington Circle on August 18. However, today, federal officials chose to execute the closure at the site and several others. Ahead of anticipated federal actions, the District has been proactively working with residents experiencing homelessness to connect them to shelter and services. The District has and continues to offer transportation to shelter, storage of items, access to behavioral health and/or medical care, case management and connection to other services as needed. In many cases, we’ve been able to help residents accept offers of shelter. Impacted Washingtonians who seek shelter will not be turned away, as DC is able to expand shelter capacity as needed. DC will continue to support residents with wraparound social services, but the planned engagements are otherwise the purview of the federal agencies.
A White House official confirmed to FOX 5 DC that three multi-agency teams were assigned to begin clearing homeless encampments in the District. Homeless individuals will be allowed to leave the area, be taken to a homeless shelter or offered addiction and mental health services. Anyone who refuses to leave the area could receive fines or jail time.
The official confirmed that over 70 homeless encampments had been removed by U.S. Park Police since March.
Services available
On Thursday, city officials oversaw the clearing of an encampment between the Kennedy Center and the Washington Monument, citing emergency provisions due to its proximity to the highway. A city spokesperson said they acted early, believing federal authorities would target the location next and that local agencies could provide more support to those displaced.
As of Wednesday, D.C. officials reported roughly 1,100 shelter beds available for single adults, with only about 30 open. Legal advocates are urging churches to open their doors and asking residents to safely document any sweeps they witness.
The Source
Information in this article comes from previous FOX 5 reporting.
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