Washington D.C., is seeing a surge in paid protesters as U.S. President Donald Trump moves to federalize the city’s police force. Crowd rental firm Crowds on Demand reports that D.C. inquiries are up 400% from May to July 2024 compared to last year. CEO Adam Swart said, “A large share are focused on opposing Trump’s policies in Washington and raising alarms about government overreach.”
Swart revealed that most political crowds in the capital are anything but spontaneous. “Most people don’t know this, but many protesters are literally on the payroll,” he said. “Capitol Hill staffers from both parties are often expected to show up at rallies and protests on their own time. That doesn’t mean they don’t support the cause – but it does mean these crowds aren’t as ‘organic’ as they appear on TV.”
The spike in activity follows Trump’s announcement that the federal government will take control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy D.C. National Guard troops to the streets. The move comes after a brutal Aug. 3 attempted carjacking left former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward Coristine bloodied. Trump blasted city leadership, saying criminals “are not afraid of the police because nothing ever happens to them.”
He declared, “The most recent victim was beaten mercilessly by local thugs… Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime.”
