Trump signs executive order that aims to end cashless bail in Washington, D.C., other cities

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that aims to end cashless bail in Washington, D.C., and identify other jurisdictions across the country that use cashless bail systems — and withhold funding from those states unless they end the practice.

“Cashless bail. We’re ending it, but we’re starting by ending it in D.C. and that we have the right to do through federalization,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

The White House said the objective is to hold as many criminal defendants in federal custody and subject them to federal charges.

A number of U.S. jurisdictions, including Washington, allow people who’ve been arrested to get out on bail without paying a set amount of money to secure their release — a practice known as cashless bail. Instead, an accused person will promise to appear in court on a certain date, without having to pay money to be let out.

The idea behind it is to prevent low-income people from being unfairly detained because they don’t have the money to post bail.

Judges hold a bail hearing to determine whether an accused person poses a flight risk or harm to the community. If they do, they may be detained. If the judge decides they don’t pose a risk, the defendant may then be released.

Trump claims this has resulted in a revolving door of violent criminals being let out of jail.

“I mean, they kill people and they get out,” the president said. “They thought it was discriminatory to make people put up money.”

Trump was flanked by a number of his executives, including Vice-President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Bondi gave two examples of cases where defendants were released on cashless bail and came back and revictimized people, including one that ended in a fatality.

“A man got in a fight with another guy. He had a gun. He was let out. Next night, he got out, went back and killed him. So that’s why it’s so important, President, what you’re doing. And thank you,” Bondi said.

Trump signs executive order targeting bail, flag burning

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed two more executive orders on Monday targeting bail policy and flag burning. Trump has also threatened to send the National Guard to more major cities across the U.S, citing increased crime and homelessness.

‘D.C. is not any safer now,’ law prof says

On Aug. 11, Trump declared a “public safety emergency” and deployed the National Guard to police the District of Columbia after a White House staffer was injured in a carjacking. Last week, Hegseth authorized them to carry weapons.

“D.C. is not any safer now than it was before the the occupation,” said Vida Johnson, a law professor at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the the school’s Criminal Justice Clinic.

In an interview with CBC News, Johnson said Washington’s crime rate is at a 30-year low and is safer than many cities in Republican states, but the National Guard has not been brought in to police those jurisdictions.

“D.C. is a safe place, it’s safer than Salt Lake City, Utah, for example or St. Louis, Missouri,” she said. “I worry that it is a way to exert power over a city that is majority minority.”

Johnson said the executive order will require an act of Congress to be carried out. “The judges in D.C. Superior Court need to follow the laws that exist now, not as Trump wishes it to be,” she said.

If Congress goes along with the president’s wishes, Johnson said, there will be a lot of people in jail, just because they can’t afford to post bail.

“Anyone who’s accused of a crime in the United States, just like in Canada, is presumed innocent. And so moving to hold people without bond who have not been found guilty is really troubling, especially when we’re talking about low-levelmisdemeanour offences,” she said.

The executive order says D.C’s pretrial release policies, which include cashless bail, have resulted in law enforcement having to arrest the same individuals multiple times. It also claims dangerous criminals are sometimes “rapidly released.”

“This leaves such criminals free to endanger American citizens visiting our Nation’s capital, Federal workers discharging their duties to our Nation, and citizens of the District of Columbia trying to live their lives safely,” Trump’s order said.