Prosecutors Work Overnight in Trump-Directed DC Anti-Crime Surge

Federal prosecutors at the Washington US attorney’s office have been required to work overnight shifts and pushed to charge more cases during a Justice Department law enforcement surge.

A rotating group of four assistant US attorneys, a supervisor, and paralegal have had to be on call starting at 5:30 p.m. every night for a 24-hour shift to handle the influx of arrests stemming from federal agent patrols that began last month, according to three people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prosecutors typically don’t bring criminal charges every time someone is arrested. But those at the largest US attorney’s office in the nation, now led by former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, have also been expected to charge more cases, including more federal cases, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The mandate applies to the office’s federal criminal division, and demonstrates how the office of Washington’s top prosecutor has prioritized manpower toward executing the Justice Department’s effort to crack down on crime and working to fulfill the White House’s goal to expand federal power over the nation’s capital.

President Donald Trump issued a declaration of a emergency in August stating that crime in DC is “out of control,” allowing the federal government to exert some control over the city police for 30 days.

The Trump administration has also deployed the National Guard, which has joined other federal law enforcement agents in continuing to patrol the streets. Though the emergency period expired Wednesday, no end date to the overnight on-duty shifts has been provided, according to two of the people who provided details to Bloomberg Law.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has touted arrest numbers surpassing 2,000 in regular updates on the social media platform X.

A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office said Pirro “has devoted a large segment of her office from both the criminal division and superior court division who are available 24/7, 7 days a week to support the surge and who continue with their normal workload responsibilities.”

The surge has contributed to the office’s low morale since the tenure of former interim US attorney Ed Martin, three people said. He’s a former Jan. 6 advocate who oversaw staff turnover and tumult during his 120-day stint this year.

The government has filed dozens of cases in Washington’s federal trial court since Trump’s declaration, including assault charges against a since-terminated Justice Department employee captured on video throwing a sandwich at a federal agent.

The effort has prompted the office to pull resources from other areas. Prosecutors who have appeared in criminal cases in Washington federal court in the past month have included those from sections that handle violent crime and narcotics trafficking, and federal major crimes, according to a review of court records.