ISTANBUL

US Vice President JD Vance visited National Guard troops Wednesday at Union Station, thanking soldiers deployed in Washington, DC's federal crime operation as he faced protests about the intervention.

Vance was accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

He praised troops for "actually keeping this place safe" and cited what he said was a 35% reduction in violent crime and more than 50% decrease in robberies since deployment began.

Demonstrators and federal intervention opponents protested during the visit, chanting "Free DC" in opposition to the federal takeover.

Vance criticized protesters, questioning their understanding of safety concerns. "It is kind of bizarre that we have a bunch of old, primarily white people, who are out there protesting the policies that keep people safe when they have never felt danger in their entire lives," he said.

The vice president reframed protesters' chants: "People are screaming 'free DC!' Let's free DC from lawlessness, free Washington, DC from one of the highest murder rates in the entire world."

Miller was more direct, calling protesters "crazy communists" and "stupid white hippies" while vowing to intensify criminal removal efforts.

Vance described Union Station as "a great example of what's possible when you actually have the political willpower to bring law and order, and common decency back to the public spaces of the United States of America."

The visit follows US President Donald Trump's declaration in August of a "crime emergency" in Washington, DC, placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploying 800 National Guard troops to patrol the streets of the nation’s capital.