News | Prisons & Policing
Trump’s plan to “make D.C. beautiful again” means more policing for the city’s residents
By Nick Fulton , Truthout
Published September 5, 2026
The expenditures are enormous: $16 million toward a failed paint job on the National Mall reflecting pool. $5 million for bronze horse statues. Over $900 million toward White House renovations. Trump’s plans to “make D.C. beautiful again” are costing taxpayers well over a billion dollars and leaving local community members wondering who the renovations are really for.
These forced renovations by the administration are affecting more than landmarks and monuments. In Washington, D.C., a large portion of community parks are governed by the National Park Service and are included in federal land. These parks have become ground zero for local resistance to Trump’s hasty makeover of the District.
Malcolm X Park, also known as Meridian Hill Park, is located in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 1, one of the most diverse and densely populated wards in the city. The park has been a historic hub for organizing, public service, and unifying community gatherings. The park’s namesake came from Malcolm X’s history of organizing at the green space; in 1969, four years after his passing, Black activists including Angela Davis called for the park to be named in his honor.
In recent months, the park has fallen under federal siege. In August, Trump’s National Guard deployments, dubbed “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful,” turned a year old. Since the federal takeover, about 9,700 troops from across the country have been dispatched to the nation’s capital, and around 4,600 were deployed across D.C. as of August 3. In addition to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the National Park Police, and other policing agencies, the National Guard has turned once beautiful green spaces into militarized traps.
“[The parks] are federal property, so federal laws apply. And federal law is different from D.C. law on some things,” said Alex Dodds, campaign director and co-founder of Free DC, a fiscally sponsored project of Community Change that advocates for the dignity of the residents of D.C. FreeDC has also used Malcolm X Park as a hub for organizing a resistance movement to the Trump administration’s expanded project of policing.
These forced renovations by the administration are affecting more than landmarks and monuments. In Washington, D.C., a large portion of community parks are governed by the National Park Service and are included in federal land. These parks have become ground zero for local resistance to Trump’s hasty makeover of the District.
Malcolm X Park, also known as Meridian Hill Park, is located in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 1, one of the most diverse and densely populated wards in the city. The park has been a historic hub for organizing, public service, and unifying community gatherings. The park’s namesake came from Malcolm X’s history of organizing at the green space; in 1969, four years after his passing, Black activists including Angela Davis called for the park to be named in his honor.
In recent months, the park has fallen under federal siege. In August, Trump’s National Guard deployments, dubbed “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful,” turned a year old. Since the federal takeover, about 9,700 troops from across the country have been dispatched to the nation’s capital, and around 4,600 were deployed across D.C. as of August 3. In addition to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the National Park Police, and other policing agencies, the National Guard has turned once beautiful green spaces into militarized traps.
“[The parks] are federal property, so federal laws apply. And federal law is different from D.C. law on some things,” said Alex Dodds, campaign director and co-founder of Free DC, a fiscally sponsored project of Community Change that advocates for the dignity of the residents of D.C. FreeDC has also used Malcolm X Park as a hub for organizing a resistance movement to the Trump administration’s expanded project of policing.
“We have seen several instances over the last year during this time of dramatically aggressive federal policing, where people are getting arrested for basically having a picnic,” Dodds told Truthout.
Since Trump’s return to office, federal police have increased arrests for public consumption of alcohol (open containers) and open-air cannabis use in community parks. In D.C., possession and consumption of cannabis is decriminalized on private property. While it is not legal to use cannabis in public in D.C., the consequences are much more minimal than federal law mandates. Public use of cannabis according to local law is classified as a misdemeanor and could result in a citation. But federally, cannabis remains illegal and classified as a controlled substance, and possessing any amount of cannabis on federal land can land you a year in prison on the first offense. You can cross a street in D.C. and pass between these jurisdictions, making it easier for federal police to take advantage of these confusing legal differences in favor of harsher penalties.
This increase in policing and punishment goes beyond marijuana possession or a bottle of wine, too. Under Trump’s “beautification” plans and aggressive immigration policies, U.S. Park Police have been coordinating with ICE to support deportation efforts in public spaces. Between September 2025 and February 2026, court records show at least 10 instances where a person was arrested by ICE for immigration reasons but with the involvement and support of a U.S. Park Police officer in the metro D.C. area, according to Maryland Matters.
According to community leaders, these policing partnerships have created an environment that makes public spaces in D.C. feel unsafe.
“I mean they are stopping kids on their way to school,” said Steve Coleman, executive director of Washington Parks & People, a nonprofit community organization that revitalizes public lands and neighborhood greenspaces, including Malcolm X Park. “Kids don’t feel safe in the parks because of this intimidation. And this is the very root of what parks are for. It’s community, it’s play, it’s joy, it’s diversity.”
Malcolm X Park has also been a unique stage for the Trump administration to flex its military occupation. In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted an event with Attorney General Todd Blanche, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and about 200 members of the National Guard. As Hegseth praised the Guard’s “crime prevention,” community protesters responded with chants including “Guard, go home!” and “Say it loud, say it clear: Immigrants are welcome here!” Hegseth acknowledged the protesters, calling the chants “the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them.”
Reports indicate that National Guard deployments have not contributed to notable decreases in violent crime in D.C. and in other cities where Trump has attempted to use these deployments to combat crime and tamp down protest. Additionally, the National Guard in D.C. alone is costing taxpayers about $1.65 million per day of deployment.
Parks like Malcolm X have also been at the center of Trump’s “beautification” plans, and the community’s resistance to those plans. As part of an executive order from the White House, some community parks were forced to close to experience renovations ahead of programming related to commemorations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. According to community leaders, these closures and renovations were forced upon neighborhoods without real input or vetting.
“It’s disgusting. It’s a complete abrogation of the whole idea of community parks,” said Coleman. “These are our village greens. In the very year we’re celebrating the anniversary of our evolving democracy that began on village greens, we’re going to diss the very idea of the village being part of the village green. That doesn’t work. And to use a term like ‘beautification’ when all over town, the efforts by the White House are horribly tearing up our beautiful parks.”
While Trump directed renovations from the Oval Office, communities organized around a response to keep their community spaces open. Residents started the Keep Malcolm X Park Open Coalition, collecting thousands of signatures and demanding that the community have a say in how the change is being made to their neighborhood.
“I can’t really think of any other place where you get so many different types of people coming together all at the same time and existing in the same space,” said Robin Greene, one of the organizers behind the Keep Malcolm X Park Open Coalition. “I think that the threat of that being taken away was really something that people responded to and organized around.”
The pressure applied by Greene’s group led to the National Park Service hosting a community meeting regarding the renovations, where over 100 attendees affiliated with the Coalition attended, according to Greene. Without this organizing, the communities affected by renovations would have had no say in the process, one of the key concerns with Trump’s “beautification” efforts.
“The administration has treated these lands as if they are the sole discretion of those who work in the federal government or even within the White House,” said Edward Stierli, vice president of Government Affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a national nonprofit advocacy organization focused on protecting America’s national parks. “And that is just not the case. These are public lands that belong to the people.”
On August 25, NPCA led a day of action to object to the administration’s treatment of national parks, including Trump’s 25 percent cut to the National Park Service budget.
The Trump administration has also used public parks and public land in the District for massive events, including a UFC Fight on the White House Lawn, which cost over $60 million, and a “Washington Grand Prix” that turned historic and neighborhood streets into a racetrack that only 13 of the 25 cars managed to complete, while costing around $35 million.
While these large-scale events are funded in part by corporate sponsors, Trump’s “beautification” efforts are coming out of taxpayer pockets. The dollars spent by the White House on renovating parks and monuments and vanity projects in D.C. come from taxpayers and in part from National Park entrance fees. Trump’s usage of these buckets of dollars has drawn criticism, as he neglects certain projects in favor of ones that benefit his own agenda.
“It’s not fair. It’s not effective. It’s destroying one of the most powerful things about D.C.,” said Coleman. “So much of our green space, including many of our most iconic spaces, [has] been absolutely decimated.”
Trump’s “beautification” efforts are coming out of taxpayer pockets.
In their most recent move to make public spaces less accessible to the public, on September 3, Trump officials released their plans to permanently fence off Lafayette Square, a community park across the street from the White House. While the administration cites this closure as a necessary security enhancement, the park’s history of being an epicenter for public organizing, dissent, and protest tells a different story.
Lafayette Square was home to Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 after the police-perpetrated killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In previous years the park had also been the backdrop for organizing around women’s suffrage, LGBTQIA+ rights, and many more cases of public demonstration. Fencing off this community space will make it impossible for future protests to be held within a reasonable proximity to the White House.
According to organizers, the power of these community spaces lies in their role in organizing — which has drawn attention from officials who’d like to dissuade this kind of political work. Malcolm X Park is the backdrop for food distribution programs, a weekly drum circle with origins in the civil rights movement, and the single largest demonstration against Trump’s takeover of D.C. organized by FreeDC and attended by thousands last September.
“If we don’t take up space, they will take space away from us,” said Dodds. “Claiming our community spaces as belonging to the people is a really important part of how we understand our ability to exert our agency in a political moment like this one.”
Since Trump’s return to office, federal police have increased arrests for public consumption of alcohol (open containers) and open-air cannabis use in community parks. In D.C., possession and consumption of cannabis is decriminalized on private property. While it is not legal to use cannabis in public in D.C., the consequences are much more minimal than federal law mandates. Public use of cannabis according to local law is classified as a misdemeanor and could result in a citation. But federally, cannabis remains illegal and classified as a controlled substance, and possessing any amount of cannabis on federal land can land you a year in prison on the first offense. You can cross a street in D.C. and pass between these jurisdictions, making it easier for federal police to take advantage of these confusing legal differences in favor of harsher penalties.
“We have seen several instances over the last year during this time of dramatically aggressive federal policing, where people are getting arrested for basically having a picnic.”
This increase in policing and punishment goes beyond marijuana possession or a bottle of wine, too. Under Trump’s “beautification” plans and aggressive immigration policies, U.S. Park Police have been coordinating with ICE to support deportation efforts in public spaces. Between September 2025 and February 2026, court records show at least 10 instances where a person was arrested by ICE for immigration reasons but with the involvement and support of a U.S. Park Police officer in the metro D.C. area, according to Maryland Matters.
According to community leaders, these policing partnerships have created an environment that makes public spaces in D.C. feel unsafe.
“I mean they are stopping kids on their way to school,” said Steve Coleman, executive director of Washington Parks & People, a nonprofit community organization that revitalizes public lands and neighborhood greenspaces, including Malcolm X Park. “Kids don’t feel safe in the parks because of this intimidation. And this is the very root of what parks are for. It’s community, it’s play, it’s joy, it’s diversity.”
Malcolm X Park has also been a unique stage for the Trump administration to flex its military occupation. In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted an event with Attorney General Todd Blanche, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and about 200 members of the National Guard. As Hegseth praised the Guard’s “crime prevention,” community protesters responded with chants including “Guard, go home!” and “Say it loud, say it clear: Immigrants are welcome here!” Hegseth acknowledged the protesters, calling the chants “the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them.”
Reports indicate that National Guard deployments have not contributed to notable decreases in violent crime in D.C. and in other cities where Trump has attempted to use these deployments to combat crime and tamp down protest. Additionally, the National Guard in D.C. alone is costing taxpayers about $1.65 million per day of deployment.
Parks like Malcolm X have also been at the center of Trump’s “beautification” plans, and the community’s resistance to those plans. As part of an executive order from the White House, some community parks were forced to close to experience renovations ahead of programming related to commemorations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. According to community leaders, these closures and renovations were forced upon neighborhoods without real input or vetting.
“It’s disgusting. It’s a complete abrogation of the whole idea of community parks,” said Coleman. “These are our village greens. In the very year we’re celebrating the anniversary of our evolving democracy that began on village greens, we’re going to diss the very idea of the village being part of the village green. That doesn’t work. And to use a term like ‘beautification’ when all over town, the efforts by the White House are horribly tearing up our beautiful parks.”
“Kids don’t feel safe in the parks because of this intimidation. And this is the very root of what parks are for. It’s community, it’s play, it’s joy, it’s diversity.”
While Trump directed renovations from the Oval Office, communities organized around a response to keep their community spaces open. Residents started the Keep Malcolm X Park Open Coalition, collecting thousands of signatures and demanding that the community have a say in how the change is being made to their neighborhood.
“I can’t really think of any other place where you get so many different types of people coming together all at the same time and existing in the same space,” said Robin Greene, one of the organizers behind the Keep Malcolm X Park Open Coalition. “I think that the threat of that being taken away was really something that people responded to and organized around.”
The pressure applied by Greene’s group led to the National Park Service hosting a community meeting regarding the renovations, where over 100 attendees affiliated with the Coalition attended, according to Greene. Without this organizing, the communities affected by renovations would have had no say in the process, one of the key concerns with Trump’s “beautification” efforts.
“The administration has treated these lands as if they are the sole discretion of those who work in the federal government or even within the White House,” said Edward Stierli, vice president of Government Affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a national nonprofit advocacy organization focused on protecting America’s national parks. “And that is just not the case. These are public lands that belong to the people.”
On August 25, NPCA led a day of action to object to the administration’s treatment of national parks, including Trump’s 25 percent cut to the National Park Service budget.
The Trump administration has also used public parks and public land in the District for massive events, including a UFC Fight on the White House Lawn, which cost over $60 million, and a “Washington Grand Prix” that turned historic and neighborhood streets into a racetrack that only 13 of the 25 cars managed to complete, while costing around $35 million.
While these large-scale events are funded in part by corporate sponsors, Trump’s “beautification” efforts are coming out of taxpayer pockets. The dollars spent by the White House on renovating parks and monuments and vanity projects in D.C. come from taxpayers and in part from National Park entrance fees. Trump’s usage of these buckets of dollars has drawn criticism, as he neglects certain projects in favor of ones that benefit his own agenda.
“It’s not fair. It’s not effective. It’s destroying one of the most powerful things about D.C.,” said Coleman. “So much of our green space, including many of our most iconic spaces, [has] been absolutely decimated.”
Trump’s “beautification” efforts are coming out of taxpayer pockets.
In their most recent move to make public spaces less accessible to the public, on September 3, Trump officials released their plans to permanently fence off Lafayette Square, a community park across the street from the White House. While the administration cites this closure as a necessary security enhancement, the park’s history of being an epicenter for public organizing, dissent, and protest tells a different story.
Lafayette Square was home to Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 after the police-perpetrated killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In previous years the park had also been the backdrop for organizing around women’s suffrage, LGBTQIA+ rights, and many more cases of public demonstration. Fencing off this community space will make it impossible for future protests to be held within a reasonable proximity to the White House.
According to organizers, the power of these community spaces lies in their role in organizing — which has drawn attention from officials who’d like to dissuade this kind of political work. Malcolm X Park is the backdrop for food distribution programs, a weekly drum circle with origins in the civil rights movement, and the single largest demonstration against Trump’s takeover of D.C. organized by FreeDC and attended by thousands last September.
“If we don’t take up space, they will take space away from us,” said Dodds. “Claiming our community spaces as belonging to the people is a really important part of how we understand our ability to exert our agency in a political moment like this one.”
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