President Trump signed an executive order Monday to end cashless bail in the District, as he broadens his crime crackdown in the nation’s capital.
The executive order threatens withholding federal funding, services or approvals if the District doesn’t ditch its cashless bail policy.
The order also pushes to keep all arrested suspects in the District in federal custody as much as possible.
A separate executive order will pull federal funds from other cities and states across the country with similar cashless bail policies.
“Cashless bail policies allow dangerous individuals to immediately return to the streets and further endanger law-abiding, hard-working Americans because they know our laws will not be enforced,” states a White House memo on the planned executive action.
Another executive order signed by Mr. Trump calls for one year in prison as the penalty for anyone who burns the U.S. flag.
The District broadly eliminated cashless bail in the early 1990s, and has since relied on judges to determine if a defendant is a danger to the community or will skip future court dates.
The executive order addressing the District’s bail policies comes two weeks after Mr. Trump federalized the Metropolitan Police Force and deployed thousands of National Guard troops to address crime and homelessness in the city.
