MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend pushed back on increased police presence in D.C., claiming during a panel Tuesday that, as a Black woman, she doesn't believe more officers make communities safer—particularly in predominantly Black neighborhoods.

Sanders-Townsend, who served as chief spokesperson and senior adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris before joining MSNBC in 2022, spoke on President Donald Trump’s new initiative to stop crime in the nation’s capital. 

Trump announced Monday that he plans to deploy approximately 800 National Guard troops and assume oversight of the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle rising crime in Washington, D.C. The announcement caused shockwaves across media, but some, like MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, hinted that there may be some truth to Trump saying there is a crisis. 

"There has been a problem in D.C. It’s not as bad as it was 2 or 3 years ago, but it’s not as safe as Manhattan. It’s not as safe as the nation’s capital should be. By the way, I’ve lived in D.C. for 32 years. I can go chapter and verse if you’d like me to," Scarborough said. 

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Sanders-Townsend appeared openly shocked at Scarborough’s words and pushed back, citing her experience as having lived in D.C. for the last 10 years and her husband running the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. 

"It is perceived violence amplified by some actual real acts of violence," she said before adding, "the way I’ve heard D.C. being described this morning is like it’s a city under siege, like it’s a dangerous place, clutching your pearls, you’ve got to keep your bag under your dress when you leave the house. And that’s just not true."

She said that the conversation is revolving around these instances of "juvenile crime" that Trump is using as a pretext for his "authoritatrain overreach." 

Sanders-Townsend argued there is just barely enough real crime to make people think that Trump may have some legitimate reason to take such action, but all the while, people are "ignoring the fact that more police officers on the street are not going to fix the issue of juvenile crime."

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Scarborough urged her to clarify, asking, "You don’t think more police make streets safer?"

"No, Joe. I’m a Black woman in America," she said. "I do not always think that more police make streets safer. When you walk down the streets of Georgetown, you don’t see a police officer on every corner, but you don’t feel unsafe."

"So what is it about talking about places like southeast D.C., right, Ward 8, if you will, that people say, ‘Well, we need more officers to make us safe?’ I think we have to rethink what safety means in America," Sanders-Townsend argued.

FIRST ON FOX: One of the prominent activists behind the protests against President Trump’s move to federalize Washington, D.C., to combat crime is a Black Lives Matter organizer who has a long history of calling for defunding and abolishing the police and other far-left agenda items.

In recent days and on Monday, shortly after Trump's press conference announcing federal resources being sent to the nation's capital in accordance with the Constitution, protesters took to the streets opposing the crime crackdown, including Nee Nee Taylor, the executive director of Harriet's Wildest Dreams and Free DC's co-founder and operations organizer.

"Free D.C.," Taylor told protesters gathered around her on the streets of Washington, D.C., on Monday.  "This is our city."

"Take it to the streets. This our D.C. No justice, no peace," she continued. "If we don't get no justice, they're not going to get any peace… The only violence that's happening in D.C. right now is the violence against our communities that this president is directing."

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Over the years, Taylor has repeatedly called for police to be defunded and abolished on her X account, formerly known as Twitter, with the username "SpiritOfHarrietTubman."

In 2018, Taylor posted on X, "Let’s [sic] clear I want to abolish the police"

"Black Morning! I woke up like this, in my Greatness and also still having to shout to the World that we are FREE! Abolish the enslave Patrols that beat, kill and arrest Black people," Taylor posted on X in 2021. "Call & demand that all Protesters be release. [sic]"

"Ayeee! May all Jails and Prisons be abolish! [sic]" Taylor posted on X in 2021 in response to the anniversary of Chelsea Manning, who was found guilty of espionage before being pardoned by former President Obama, being released from prison.

Taylor has specifically called for the defunding of the police department in Washington, D.C., where she is now opposing Trump's move to send in federal resources.

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"Wasn’t the conclusion to tow cars and hold club owners responsible for violence? Being reactive and not pro active won’t keep people safe," Taylor posted on X in 2022. "Defund @DCPoliceDept and invest in resources that keep people safe. #DefundMPD invest in community."

"Access to food is a fundamental human right, yet due to poverty many people aren’t afforded this right," Harriet's Wildest Dreams posted on Facebook in 2022. "The state, using police, maintains poverty and therefore hunger. In today’s episode of #PoliticalEducationMondays we discuss why "Defunding Police is Food Justice."

Taylor's group went on to slam the police in a series of other social media posts, saying it has "always targeted queer and trans folks" and that "police have existed to violently protect property and its owners."

Taylor has also been vocal about abolishing ICE, railing against the Los Angeles ICE raids in a June Facebook post. The June 9 post said the raids were "chaos" and were being "provoked by this administration." She went on to say law enforcement "doesn't keep us safe. Not the police, not ICE, not any system built to control us."

Harriet's Wildest Dreams and Taylor have also both celebrated Assata Shakur, also known as JoAnne Chesimard, who was convicted in the 1973 killing of New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster, who left behind a wife and 3-year-old son. 

"Assata Shakur is a freedom fighter and political activist. A prominent figure in the Black Liberation Movement, Assata sought refuge in Cuba in 1984 after escaping political persecution in the U.S," the group wrote last year on Facebook with the "HandsOffAssata" hashtag. "She became the first woman on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Denying criminal accusations, she embodies a symbol of resistance against racism and injustice."

In another Facebook post from last week, the group included a graphic with Shakur's face and a caption that read, "Black August is a time to honor those who chose freedom, no matter the cost. We carry the stories  of those who risked everything for liberation."

Taylor posted several times about Shakur being a "freedom fighter" and downplayed her murder conviction by saying she was stooped for a broken taillight, ignoring her involvement in the shooting. Shakur later escaped prison and fled to Cuba, where former Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro granted her asylum. She is currently still wanted by the FBI.

A flyer distributed by the Free DC Project, an organizer along with Harriet's Wildest Dreams, said that the opposition's "guiding principles" are: Do not obey in advance. Prioritize joy. Take up space. Be in solidarity, and organize.

"Silence is compliance, so we need to get loud, starting tonight and every night of this occupation, go outside at 8:00 PM and bang pots and pans, sing, chant, or make noise for five minutes," the flyer, posted on Instagram on Monday, explained.

Harriet's Wildest Dreams refers to itself as a group formed out of Black Lives Matter with the intent "to begin the next chapter of our journey as organizers in the movement for Black lives and liberation in DMV (DC, MD, VA)."

On the Harriet's Wildest Dreams website, Taylor is described as "our modern-day Harriet Tubman."

Harriet's Wildest Dream was also active in 2024 pushing back against the arrest of anti-Israel protesters on college campuses, including George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

The nation's capital in the following years has been rocked by shootings that have left innocent children shot and dead, a trend of juveniles committing carjackings that have turned deadly in some cases, shoplifting crimes and attacks on government employees, summer interns and others, including the fatal shooting of 21-year-old congressional intern, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, in June.

Trump responded on Monday by announcing that he is federalizing the D.C. police department to curb spiraling violence, sparking pushback from Democrats who have claimed crime is down in the nation's capital. 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report