John Oliver, of Last Week Tonight, highlighted the video of a federal agent telling a group on a Washington, D.C., porch, that Donald Trump “is tired of” people consuming alcohol and marijuana in public.
As the National Guard and multiple federal agencies—including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)—take part in the federalization of law enforcement in the District of Columbia, there was one interaction over the weekend that caught national attention.
Oliver’s HBO series Last Week Tonight showed a clip where an agent approached two people, on the suspicion that they used cannabis in public.
Agent: “We are doing checks to keep everyone safe here.” He asked them if they “had heard of Donald Trump’s federal surge”.
@binge Homer is now the Vigilante. BINGE has a new Last Week Tonight episode. #LastWeekTonight #LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver #JohnOliver #Trump #DC #ICE #Vigilante #Militia #Merc #Crime #TheSimpsons #TV #TVShow #TVClip #TVClips #TVScene #TVScenes #Show #Series #Clip #Clips #Scene #Scenes #BINGE #ItAllHappensHere
♬ original sound – BINGE
In his remarks, he was making reference to an executive order that mobilized the National Guard as well as other agencies in the Capitol in order to combat violent crimes. Local officials dispute the rationale for this “surge”, citing lower than average crime rates in D.C. over the past few years.
But as federal agents swept the streets of D.C.—which White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday resulted in 465 arrests over about two weeks—questions are being raised about the nature of the crimes those officers were targeting.
Oliver claimed that “the most egregious expression” of this disconnect is “this embarrassing encounter in which a group agents approaches a guy they mistakenly believe is smoking pot on his porch. By the way it is legal to do so in D.C.”
(For the record, possession of limited amounts of marijuana by adults is legal in the District under a voter-approved law—but public consumption is prohibited.)
The apparent involvement of federal police officers in the alleged cases of low-level cannabis is noteworthy.
The agent in the recording says: “Trump has all federal agencies coming together and trying to stop violent crime, and all kinds of stuff.”
You know what you need to do, don’t you? Learn. Tell your boys like, ‘Yo, everybody’s out, [including] FBI.’ You do you. “Let them know,” said he. Do not smoke outdoors. “Don’t drink outside. Donald Trump will not tolerate it.
Another video was shared over the weekend on TikTok that featured a content creator running through D.C. He said that at one point he saw local police and federal CBP agents arrested a man for public cannabis consumption.
@r.oh.bee Some of the sights and sounds from DC last night now that National Guard is deployed and DC Police is federalized… Lots of super weird vibes all around. The people are very uncomfortable about all the policing. I saw people being stopped for smoking on the streets, and I also watched federal agents ask people who were camping in the homeless camps to find somewhere to sleep for the night. All under the pretext of “putting an stop to violent crimes.” Thank you for all the messages of support I received yesterday! Over 300 DMs came from people that wanted to know what the real situation in DC was. This just shows how many people are interested. This DM made me want to get out and explore the world and spread whatever information I can. These are not the type of videos I’m making at this time, and I wish they weren’t. But it has to be done. Instead of running 8 miles through the beautiful DC, I bounced around all over to places where there was police presence. Friends, stay safe!
♬ original sound – Rob
The creator informed MEDCAN24 the individual was eventually released. However, it is unclear if he or she were cited.
When asked for comments on recent allegations of federal involvement with cannabis arrests by MEDCAN24, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department referred MEDCAN24 back to the city administration, who had not responded at the time this article was published. White House did not also respond to an inquiry for comment.
Anyhow, the White House’s initiative to place federal agents within a jurisdiction which has legalized Cannabis creates an unusual tension in relation to state/local autonomy and marijuana laws.
The announcement comes as expectations are high about a decision that could be taken on a proposal that would move marijuana to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Trump stated last week that there would be an announcement in the near future.
The president previously endorsed rescheduling on the campaign trail ahead of his second term, but he was less clear about his position last week—and influencers in MAGA circles have given mixed feedback on what outcome they want to see.
Trump stated that the decision to reclassify cannabis is “under consideration” at this time and “early.” It’s “too early” to know how it will be determined.
“Some people like it. Some people hate it—people hate the whole concept of marijuana, because it does bad for the children [and] The president stated that it was bad for older people. “But we’re looking at reclassification, and we’ll make a determination over the next few weeks—and that determination, hopefully, will be the right one.”
In D.C. both Trump and previous administrations on the other side of the aisle proposed budgets which maintained a clause that prevented the District from utilizing local tax dollars for a system regulated commercial marijuana sales, despite voter approved laws legalizing home cultivation and possession.
Meanwhile, anti-marijuana organizations recently narced on several locally licensed cannabis businesses in D.C.—sending a letter to Trump, the U.S. attorney general and a federal prosecutor that identifies dispensaries they allege are too close to schools despite approval from District of Columbia officials.
Philip Steffan provided the photo.