The mayor of Washington, DC has declared a curfew to run over four nights for under-18s effective immediately in response to a wave of youth-related disturbances and violence that have roiled the city in recent weeks.
The emergency measure follows a string of chaotic gatherings, including a large, disorderly crowd in the Navy Yard neighborhood on Friday night, that officials say threatened public safety.
‘All juveniles under the age of 18 are subject to a curfew from 11pm until 6am, which will extend through November 5,’ Bowser announced in a post on X on Saturday evening.
‘This is in response to several weeks of disorderly juvenile behavior which endangered both themselves and others,’ Bowser’s tweet read.
According to a statement from the mayor’s office, the curfew applies citywide each night until next Wednesday night.
The Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has also been authorized to establish ‘special zones’ deemed high-risk for juvenile disorder, where curfew times could begin as early as 6pm.
Police are also empowered to declare temporary curfew zones if groups of eight or more minors are found gathering in a way that endangers themselves or the public.
The announcement marks one of the most sweeping youth-control measures implemented in the capital in recent years, highlighting mounting concern among city leaders over juvenile crime, flash mobs, and group violence that have surged.
The Democratic mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser, has declared a juvenile curfew across Washington, D.C., effective immediately, in response to a wave of youth-related disturbances and violence that have roiled the city in recent weeks.
Bowser announced the curfew in a post on X on Saturday evening
A large group of juveniles began fighting with one another and the National Guard in the Navy Yard area of Washington, DC on Friday night
Five teenagers were arrested following Friday night’s violent clash with the National Guard in Washington DC.
An officer was injured during the melee after hundreds of youths descended on the city’s famed Navy Yard just after 7.30pm on Halloween, DC Police said.
The teens were peaceful at first but as the night progressed the, ‘group began engaging in fights and disrupting the flow of traffic, repeatedly ignoring instructions to remain on the sidewalks.’
Dramatic video shot by a nearby resident showed teenagers pursued by police, including the National Guardsmen, running in the park. Screams can be heard in the chaos.
Police – alongside the National Guard, Capitol Police, Metro Transit Police, and a Federal Task Force – closed down the streets in the area and worked to disperse the group.
By 11pm, the group had dispersed, and five were arrested.
Kaeden Brown, 18, was arrested for allegedly being in possession of a knife.
Four minors, between the ages of 14 and 16, were also arrested on various charges, including public consumption of marijuana, affray, and failing to obey.
Five teenagers, including four minors, have been arrested after a clash with Washington DC police in the city’s famed Navy Yard on Friday night
Several groups of teenagers began populating the Navy Yard around 7:30pm on Halloween. Within 30 minutes, hundreds of youths had joined them
Additional arrests were made by the Metro Transit Police, DC Police said, but it is unclear how many. Daily Mail has reached out for further details.
One officer was injured in the debacle after he was thrown to the ground. He was treated on the scene by EMS.
‘The behavior displayed last night in the Navy Yard is unacceptable,’ Chief Pamela A. Smith said in a statement.
DC Police are amping up their presence in the city throughout the holiday weekend.
It comes after President Donald Trump sent the National Guard to the nation’s capital in August.
National Guard troops are NOW preparing for winter in Washington, DC as leadership acknowledges they could remain through summer 2026.
Trump’s Interim Commanding General of the DC National Guard told officers ‘to plan and prepare for a long-term persistent presence,’ according to emails included in a new court filing.
General Leland Blanchard said in a September 17, 2025 message to generals from other states that he instructed National Guard forces currently in the District to ‘work quickly toward ‘wintering’ our formation.’
The teens were peaceful at first, but as the night progressed, the ‘group began engaging in fights and disrupting the flow of traffic, repeatedly ignoring instructions to remain on the sidewalks’
By 11pm, the group had dispersed. Kaeden Brown, 18, was arrested for being in possession of a knife. The four minors were not identified
Metropolitan Police along with other federal law enforcement agencies arrived to disperse the crowds and made several arrests
While the current extension of troop deployment is through November 30, 2025, Blanchard acknowledged in the email that troop presence in the District could span through when ‘America 250 occurs this summer’.
National Guard are prohibited from directly making arrests, but the Trump administration credits the reduction in crime and the surge in arrests on their presence.
As of early October, more than 2,000 arrests have been made since the operation began on August 11. Around 1,500 were made by Metro Police Department officials and the rest by federal agent partners with agencies like ICE, CBP, FBI, DEA, ATF and others.
Edward Coristine, 19, was attacked by a gang of youths during an attempted carjacking on the crime-ravaged streets of Washington DC at 3am on August 3
Last month, two teenagers who beat former DOGE staffer ‘Big Balls’ into a bloody pulp were left still roaming the streets after a judge sentenced them to less than one year of probation.
Edward Coristine, 19, was attacked by a gang of youths during an attempted carjacking in Washington, DC at 3am on August 3.
A boy and girl from Hyattsville, Maryland, both 15, pleaded guilty to simple assault. They cannot be named because of their age.
The boy was sentenced to 12 months’ probation, the girl received a nine-month term.
The teenagers have been ordered not to contact each other or spend any time in DC, unless for school, job or family obligations.
The judge said that the purpose of juvenile court was to rehabilitate, not punish offenders.
Coristine, who rose to national prominence for his leadership of Elon Musk’s DOGE team and his bawdy high school nickname, was left bloody and concussed after the attempted carjacking while he was with his girlfriend.
He was jumped by around ten youths but the others who took part in the assault have not been identified and remain at large.
Coristine, who rose to national prominence for his leadership of Elon Musk’s DOGE team and his high school nickname, was left bloody, badly beaten and fearing he was concussed
A member of the Army National Guard gives a thumbs-up to the camera as they patrol the National Mall on October 12
Donald Trump speaks while visiting federal troops at the US Park Police Anacostia operations facility in Washington, DC, on August 21
Days after the attack, Donald Trump deployed the National Guard in the nation’s capital as a response to concerns over raging crime.
He has since frequently remarked that DC feels much safer, and that politicians have told him that they are now able to go out for dinner with their spouses without fear.
‘It’s like a different place, it’s a different city,’ Trump said earlier this year, adding: ‘Everybody’s safe now.’
The President formally federalized DC in a safety and ‘beautification’ effort.
Beyond crime, Trump also hoped to rid the streets of the homeless and clean up the graffiti.
On August 11, he announced in a news conference from the White House he was invoking the DC Home Rule Act in order to place the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control.
Violent crime declined sharply following the deployment of National Guard, homicides and assaults were down by around 25 percent compared to previous weeks.
Trump has since launched similar crime crackdowns in another Democrat-run cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis and Portland.
