Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) introduced a crime bill on Monday that includes a ban on criminals wearing masks — after she mandated face coverings during the Chinese coronavirus.
“We need to act now,” Bowser told reporters about the soaring crime. “And we need to send the strong message that violence is not acceptable in our city — and this perception that people have, that you can commit a brazen crime and get away with it, has got to stop.”
“This legislation will change that,” she claimed.
In 2020, Bowser issued an edict that forced people to wear a mask in the District when they left their homes “if they are likely to come into contact with another person for more than a fleeting moment.” Bowser finally dropped the mandate in late 2022.
Over a year later, Bowser believes covering one’s face might lead to increased crime. “Obviously, our community’s relationship around wearing masks has changed significantly since 2020, and thank God for that, but we’ve all seen the videos,” Bowser said.
Last week, five homicides occurred in 35 hours in three separate highly trafficked areas of the city. One shocking incident occurred Monday when four masked men jumped out of a car in the well-to-do Wharf neighborhood with guns drawn to rob restaurant goers, Metropolitan Police Department footage showed. Another incident entailed a former Democrat staffer for a District council member.
Crime soared in 2022 after U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves refused to prosecute 67 percent of those arrested by police. In 2023, crime spiked with 222 homicides, a 35 percent increase from the same period in 2022, according to police statistics. The District eclipsed 200 killings on August 12, the earliest point since the late 1990s. The nation’s capitol currently ranks 173 in safety on a list of 182 American cities, according to a study recently released by WalletHub.
District taxying residents recently told Breitbart News the Democrat-run town is turning into an American war zone.
File/Washington, D,C Mayor Muriel Bowser fully masked inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center May 11, 2020 in Washington, DC. The field hospital is a part of the city’s medical surge response plan as an alternate site to assist hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. (Win McNamee/Getty)
“The message I hear from D.C. officials is all about helping the criminals: ‘What services do they need? How do we stop the cycle of crime and violence?’” a victim who suffered a concussion from an assault told Breitbart News. “All of these expensive, taxpayer-funded tactics are obviously not working.”
“What about the victims?” he asked. “We don’t need another task force. We need a simple and clear tough-on-crime stance. If you assault, batter, or steal, you will be arrested, and you will go to jail. Without that message, D.C. will continue to spiral into violent chaos.”
Taxpaying citizens are not the only residents who feel unsafe. In October, thieves carjacked Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) in Navy Yard, a community just south of the Capitol Building. Democrat Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was also attacked by a man inside her apartment building in February.
In March, blocks away from the Capitol Building, an attacker randomly stabbed Sen Rand Paul’s (R-KY) staffer on the 1300 block of H Street.
The suspect, identified as 42-year-old black District resident, reportedly told law enforcement he launched the attack because “voices” in his head told him to do it.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.