District law blocks the US Attorney’s Office from prosecuting most DC juveniles, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro told Navy Yard residents at the March 24 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6/8F (ANC 6/8F).
District statutes assign responsibility for juvenile prosecution to the DC Attorney General (DC OAG).
The US Attorney for the District of Columbia (USADC) can charge juveniles as adults, but only in very limited circumstances. This is true even in high-profile “teen takeover” incidents, Pirro stated at the meeting. “I want them,” Pirro stated, regarding the teens gathering at the Navy Yard.
“They’ve got to be made accountable. I want them, but the DC Council has not allowed us to prosecute individuals 16 and 17,” unless they commit serious crimes such as homicide or assault with a deadly weapon, she added.
Pirro said her office prosecutes every juvenile case eligible for adult prosecution under Title 16. The office has brought 10 such cases so far in 2026. “We don’t shy away from them. We go and grab them whenever we can,” she said.
Her appearance comes amid a broader national debate over juvenile justice. In recent years, lawmakers in a number of states have sought to expand detention, transfer more juvenile cases to adult court and roll back reforms that emphasized diversion and rehabilitation. In the District, those debates intersect with the District’s unusual criminal justice structure, where federal and local authorities share responsibility for public safety.
Casting herself as both the city’s federal prosecutor and its de facto local district attorney, Pirro took credit for recent reductions in violent crime.
The Federal Law Enforcement Surge
“The District of Columbia has experienced a tremendous drop in crime since the federal enhancement,” Pirro told commissioners, crediting an August 2025 surge in federal resources initiated by President Donald Trump. Citing “hard numbers,” including 11 homicides so far this year — a figure consistent with Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) data — about one-third of what it was last year.
“Our job was to come in here and clean things up,” she said.
The federal and city authorities have made 11,000 arrests and seized more than 1,200 guns, Pirro claimed. These figures were not immediately verifiable from publicly available Justice Department releases reviewed after the meeting, which report lower totals for 2025. Taking guns off the street means they can’t be used in other crimes, “which is why now we have incredible statistics,” Pirro said.
“The truth is that if you take your job seriously, if the criminals know you’re gunning for them, then you’re going to make a difference. And if you’re all about coddling people and explaining away why people are committed, then you’re going to end up and be one of the most violent cities in America,” Pirro told commissioners.
Nearly every type of crime has gone down in the District, Pirro stated. Domestic violence is the one exception. Pirro has launched the USADC Violent Intimate Partner Emergency Response Team (VIPER) in response. This program assigns a prosecutor to focus on the victim together with advocates and security specialists. Pirro plans another program kickoff with Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) next week.
Pirro’s remarks generated a forceful response.
Calling Out Pirro
Commissioner Edward Daniels (6/8F04) pointedly questioned Pirro’s credibility on the issue of domestic violence.
Given her support for President Donald J. Trump, a man found civilly liable in a case involving charges of sexual abuse, how did Pirro have “the audacity” to speak about domestic violence? Daniels asked.
“Let me tell you something, sir,” Pirro responded. “You would question the woman who started the first domestic violence unit in the nation, who spent her career prosecuting batterers, who prosecuted rape cases, who led units in a district attorney’s office, who came here and made it a priority? I don’t just talk the talk, sir, I walk the walk,” she said.
When the conversation at the meeting turned to youth crime and disruptive gatherings of teens at the Navy Yard, Pirro repeatedly claimed her hands were tied.
Navy Yard Youth Gatherings
The USADC can prosecute individuals 18 years of age or older, said Pirro. For 16- and 17-year-olds, the jurisdiction of her office is limited to a narrow list of serious offenses, including murder, first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree burglary, robbery, armed robbery and related assaults.
“Since I have been here, my mission has been to change the law to make some of the young punks criminally responsible for what they’re doing,” Pirro said. She said she wants to hold youth accountable for “interfering with the livelihood of businesses, quality of life and quiet enjoyment of where you live.”
However, the jurisdictional limitations have sidelined her office from dealing with youth disorder, a flashpoint in the Navy Yard and elsewhere, Pirro said.
“You can have 50 kids in the Navy Yard,” she said. “[I] can’t touch any of them because the DC Council will not allow the United States attorney to handle these cases.”
“I want them, but the DC Council has not allowed us to prosecute individuals 16 and 17,” Pirro said.
The DC Council has chosen to keep most juvenile cases in family court under the DC attorney general, based on the view that “young people, their prefrontal cortex is not fully developed,” Pirro stated. A philosophy, she sharply rejected.
“I think that’s a mistake,” Pirro said. “Either we can get young people who are committing crimes —I’m talking about 14, 15, 16, 17 [year-olds], the sooner we’ll be able to cut back on the outrageous conduct that we’ve already cut back on significantly, I must say.”
Pirro cited the recent arrest of a juvenile for discharging and possessing a firearm at the Navy Yard. The DC OAG is handling that case, Pirro claimed.
“He’s 15. I can’t get my hands on him,” Pirro said about the youth.
The USADC has prosecuted 53 juvenile major crimes, including nine homicides, last year and 10 so far this year, Pirro said. However, it lacks the tools to end the pattern of group disturbances and lower-level offenses impacting Navy Yard residents, she said.
“I have seen too many cases where you get someone with a record, a family court record… It’s a long rap sheet,” she said. “By the time they get to me, they’re committing a murder, and therein lies the harm.”
Other commissioners also took exception.
Questioning Pirro
There have been only “two times in [his] life that I’ve ever had to listen to a full-throated defense from the state for having armed Federal officers in the streets watching my every move with big guns,” said Commissioner Dayan Reynolds (6/8F05). He compared the meeting to his time living in Moscow, Russia.
“I don’t want to have to live through that again,” Reynolds said. “I don’t want to have to hear a defense of it… We don’t have time for propaganda.”
“Were you bothered by a gun?” asked Pirro rhetorically. Before the federal surge, DC residents were living in one of the most violent cities in the country, she said. In fact, published statistics indicate that the city has seen a significant drop in crime since 2023.
“You don’t have to like it or say it’s a great thing, but you have to recognize the (value of the) enhancement. We are in a situation where crime is down,” Pirro said.
Zeroing in on data and transparency, other commissioners questioned Pirro’s claim that the federal surge is responsible for the increase in arrests and the crime reduction.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) routinely provides detailed monthly and even weekly crime statistics to the commissioners, noted. Comparable federal data has not been shared since the August 2025 federal surge, they pointed out.
“If you’ve made 11,000 arrests, that you’re at this magic wand that you brought to our city that you suddenly reduce crime, I would love to see what those numbers are,” Commissioner Daniels said. “What were the arrests? What were the charges?”
USADC’s cases are “real cases” backed by court records, Pirro responded, promising to share data. She did not have detailed figures available at the meeting.
Daniels pressed Pirro for numbers.
Pirro said she herself had assembled key data, including the number of children shot in the District over the past two years. “Nobody had those numbers. I had to put them together,” Pirro said. “50 over two years, everyone was African American. Who’s asking those questions? I am! Who’s solving cold cases? We are. So don’t act like I’m here for some reason, other than to do the right thing and to make sure that criminals are accountable,” Pirro said.
The exchange underscored a broader policy moment for the District. The emergency youth curfew is set to expire on April 14. The DC Council appears unlikely to extend it.
Speaking after Pirro’s remarks, MPD officials described their efforts to monitor social media, coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions and then deploy officers to anticipated gatherings. Commissioners responded with visible frustration. The gatherings have persisted for more than a year, and they are questioning whether current strategies are effective, they said.
Pirro has appeared at MPD District public safety meetings. She is next scheduled to appear at the March 31 meeting of the Anacostia Coordinating Council (ACC), held 12:30 p.m. at Martha’s Table (2375 Elvans Rd. SE). DC Council is scheduled to hol a legislative meeting March 31.
