Federal agents took down and arrested a man in Washington, D.C., who is in the United States illegally and was arrested last year for allegedly sexually assaulting a child.

A journalist from NBC Washington witnessed the arrest take place on the National Mall and posted a video of it online. The man, an illegal alien from Mexico, can be seen getting out of his car and appearing to attempt an escape from federal agents on foot before he is thrown to the ground and detained.

“I don’t owe anything! I don’t owe anything!” the man yells in Spanish, according to NBC. “Please! I’m not a criminal! I work here! I want to be with my family!”

BREAKING: Just saw DC Police + federal agents detain a man on the National Mall. He appeared to try to escape, then was quickly tackled to the ground by several agents + was screaming in Spanish “please, I’m not a criminal, I work here, I want to be with my family” @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/56IlXEvYbN

— Aimee Cho (@AimeeCho4) August 20, 2025

The unlawfully present alien has been identified as David Perez-Teofani, 36. He has a court order to be deported from the United States, and has entered the country illegally at least three times, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The man was previously arrested in January of last year in Virginia on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13 and indecent liberties with a child under 15. Prosecutors later dropped the charges.

“Yes, this illegal alien from Mexico was previously arrested in January 2024 in Fairfax County for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13. Glad he is off of Washington DC’s streets thanks to President Trump, Secretary Noem, and ICE,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

Perez-Teofani was later loaded into an SUV by federal agents.

“My family has papers! My family and my children! Please! Please!” he yelled.

End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

The D.C. police were put under federal control on August 11, followed by a court-approved deal that restored local command while keeping some federal oversight in place. The president cited out-of-control crime in his decision to exercise executive power to temporarily take control of the police force.

The White House has touted the results of Trump’s crime crackdown in the nation’s capital. 

“Thanks to President Trump’s bold actions to Make DC Safe Again, more than 550 dangerous criminals have been removed from the streets of our nation’s capital,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News on Wednesday.

“While the Fake News tried to sell a lie that D.C. was safe, these arrests reveal the truth,” she continued. “Hundreds of violent criminals have been arrested by federal law enforcement agents for carrying illegal weapons, distributing deadly drugs, committing armed robbery, and having ties to dangerous gangs like MS-13. President Trump is making DC safe again by enforcing the law and everyday Americans support his commonsense, tough-on-crime policies.” 

Hundreds of those arrested since Trump announced the liberation of Washington from crime have been illegal aliens. Through Tuesday, federal agents and D.C. police had arrested 465 people, with 206 of those, or 44%, being illegal aliens, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announces a massive overhaul of the intelligence community, slashing her agency’s size by almost 50% and revoking the security clearances of 37 officials. The Texas House passes a new GOP-drawn congressional map that is expected to net Republicans five more seats, following a chaotic end to a two-week Democrat walkout. Democrats are losing millions of registered voters nationwide as the party’s popularity hits record lows, according to a new analysis.

It’s Thursday, August 21, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.

Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:

If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:

Gabbard Slashes Spy Agencies, Revokes Clearances

Topline: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced a massive overhaul of the intelligence community on Wednesday, which includes cutting her agency’s size nearly in half and revoking the security clearances of 37 officials for abusing the public trust.

Dubbed “ODNI 2.0,” the plan will shrink the Office of the Director of National Intelligence by almost 50% by the end of the fiscal year, a move that will save an estimated $700 million annually. The overhaul, which was personally green-lit by President Trump, includes a 30-40% reduction in personnel.

End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

Gabbard also announced she has revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former intelligence officials for “politicizing and manipulating intelligence, or leaking classified intelligence without authorization.” The list includes officials who aided former DNI James Clapper in creating the 2016 Obama-era intelligence assessment on Russian election interference, a report Gabbard has called part of a “treasonous conspiracy.” Any of the 37 individuals who are currently employed by the U.S. government have been terminated, effective immediately.

In a separate announcement, Gabbard said she had successfully negotiated with the U.K. to get the country to drop its demand for Apple to create a “backdoor” into the encrypted data of American citizens, a move she said protects constitutional rights.

Texas Passes New GOP Map After Democrat Walkout Ends

Topline: The Texas House of Representatives passed a new Republican-drawn congressional map on Wednesday that is expected to give the GOP as many as five more House seats, ending a chaotic two-week standoff with Democratic lawmakers who fled the state.

After a two-week walkout, the protesting Democrats returned to the state capitol, allowing Republicans to pass the new map, which now heads to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk. The returning lawmakers were met with new rules requiring them to sign an “adult hall pass” to leave the chamber and to be assigned a police chaperon. The tense atmosphere was heightened on Tuesday by an active shooter threat made on social media against Republican lawmakers.

One Republican state representative dismissed the Democrats’ protest as “crocodile tears and bad, bad kabuki theater,” pointing out that Democrats have gerrymandered their own states for decades. During the walkout, former Vice President Kamala Harris called one of the protesting Democrats to praise her as a “hero of this moment.”

The national redistricting battle is set to continue, as Republicans in California have already filed a lawsuit to block Governor Newsom’s proposal to gerrymander his state’s map in retaliation for the new map in Texas.

Democrats Hemorrhage Millions of Registered Voters

Topline: The Democratic Party has lost millions of registered voters nationwide over the last four years while Republicans have seen significant gains, according to a new analysis of voter data that signals trouble for Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterms.

An analysis by The New York Times of the 30 states that track party affiliation found that from 2020 to 2024, Republicans added more voters than Democrats in every single one of those states. All told, the GOP gained 2.4 million new voters while Democrats lost 2.1 million, a 4.5 million vote swing that has nearly cut the Democrats’ registration advantage in half. The losses were most pronounced among men and young voters.

This trend coincides with the party’s favorability ratings hitting record lows. A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that common words voters associate with the party are “woke,” “weak,” and “out of touch.”

The party is also struggling with an internal strategy debate. After attempting a moderate approach, California Governor Gavin Newsom has recently adopted an aggressive, Trump-like attack style, launching a social media account to troll the White House. In another sign of the shifting political landscape, The Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk is pausing his third-party plans and is looking to build a relationship with Vice President JD Vance, who many see as the heir apparent to Trump.