Police Clear Out Anti-Israel Encampment At George Washington University
Mayor Muriel Bowser is set to testify
Migrants are driving around Washington, D.C., on motorbikes and motorized scooters without license plates or insurance, according to a Monday report by the Daily Signal.
An investigation conducted by the news outlet revealed that many individuals illegally driving unregistered bikes around the D.C. area have not been confronted by the police.
After interviewing about a dozen drivers, the Daily Signal reported that the Metropolitan Police Department seems to be largely ignoring the illegal activity amid an uptick in more motorbikes on the road.
Many individuals are acquiring motorized vehicles to generate income by delivering food. The investigation revealed that a large portion of the bikes lack license plates and are, therefore, unlikely to be properly registered or insured.
According to D.C. law, motorcycles containing engines larger than 50 cubic centimeters must be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles within 30 days and display a license plate. Motorized bicycles that can go above 20 miles per hour must also be registered and have valid insurance.
In D.C., illegal immigrants with notice to appear documents may obtain “a temporary D.C. DMV [driver’s] license or identification card for the duration of processing time indicated in the notice up to a maximum of 18 months.”
A motorized bike shop employee told the Daily Signal that “police don’t give any attention” to drivers riding bikes without a license. The worker explained that the shop provides motorbike purchasers with a license plate that reads “49cc” to avert suspicion about the motors’ actual size. The shop sells only bikes with motors larger than 50cc.
Nearly all bike drivers interviewed by the Daily Signal admitted to illegally crossing the southern border into the country. All of those questioned were driving bikes without license plates. Despite lacking the proper plates, many stated that police had not stopped them at any point.
One American driver told the news outlet he was using a 50cc bike until he noticed others with larger bikes were not getting pulled over.
“Bro, to be honest, they don’t even do nothing,” he told the Daily Signal.
According to the driver, the local police appear to be treating 50cc and 150cc bikes “the same.” He called it “a weird loophole.”
Tom Lynch, a spokesperson for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, told the news outlet that the drivers violating license and registration laws are “testing their luck.” He noted that there was no way of knowing whether officers had seen the interviewed drivers who were in violation.
The police department said in a statement, “Chief [Pamela] Smith has heard the concerns from the community about traffic safety and is working to strengthen MPD’s traffic enforcement.”
“So far, MPD has conducted 40 Traffic Safety Compliance Checkpoints across the District. Nearly 19,000 vehicles have passed through these checkpoints, resulting in over 2,600 notice of infractions, 84 arrests and the recovery of 13 firearms,” the spokesperson continued.
The department added that it aims to achieve Mayor Muriel Bowser’s (D) Vision Zero initiative, which seeks “zero fatalities or serious injuries” by clamping down on “speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, and other violations.”
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Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. was shot at least twice in an attempted carjacking Sunday in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Police Department said.
Robinson, 23, was assaulted on H Street NE by two teenage gunmen who wanted to steal his car, a white Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, according to Chief of Police Robert Contee.
“At some point during the course of this robbery attempt, our victim in this case began to struggle with one of the suspects, was able to actually wrestle that firearm away from one of the suspects. And he was shot twice by the second suspect,” Contee told reporters Monday.
Robinson, a University of Alabama alumnus who in April was drafted by the Commanders in the third round, was shot in the hip and the leg, WTOP-TV reported. His injuries were non-life threatening, and he is reportedly in stable condition now.
"Surgery went well! Thanks for the prayers! God is Great!" Robinson posted on Instagram Monday morning from Medstar Washington Hospital Center.
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said Sunday he visited Robinson in the hospital and that the rookie running back was in "good spirits" as he recovers.
"I just got done visiting w/Brian. He is in good spirits and wanted me to thank everyone for their kind words, prayers & support. He wants his teammates to know he appreciates them all for reaching out and he loves them all & will be back soon doing what he does best," Rivera tweeted.
\u201cI just got done visiting w/Brian. He is in good spirits and wanted me to thank everyone for their kind words, prayers & support. He wants his teammates to know he appreciates them all for reaching out and he loves them all & will be back soon doing what he does best.\u201d— Ron Rivera (@Ron Rivera) 1661738698
Contee said authorities believe the two suspects left the scene in a vehicle that was stolen at about 4 p.m. Friday on Branch Avenue in Temple Hills in Prince George's County, Maryland. The vehicle was found Sunday at about 7:20 p.m. in Landover.
The shooting took place at around 5:30 p.m., after Robinson went to Crab Boss at 10th and H streets in Northeast D.C. for seafood, WTOP reported.
Police said both of the suspects are teenagers. One was wearing a dark colored shirt, the other, a shirt with yellow smiley faces.
There were two guns involved in the crime, according to law enforcement. One was retrieved at the scene, and authorities are attempting to trace it.
Contee emphasized that while high profile crimes like this one make citizens feel unsafe, the overall crime rate in D.C. has not increased compared to last year.
Mayor Muriel Bowser condemned gun violence in a statement.
“If you know you have a young person that’s involved in crime, may have access to guns, may have a gun in your home, you need to reach out to us so that we can get them some help before they hurt themselves or get hurt,” Bowser said. “We also need young people to face consequences. MPD is going to locate who is responsible for this crime.”
Police in Washington, D.C., arrested a 16-year-old boy Thursday in connection with several bomb threats that were made against eight schools this week.
The arrest was made two days after second gentleman Doug Emhoff was evacuated from an event at a district high school after a bomb threat.
The Metropolitan Police Department said that the teen in custody is a resident of southeast D.C. and has been charged with making terrorist threats. The police investigation is ongoing and no further information about the teen's identity or his motives have been released.
Update: a 16-year old juvenile male, of Southeast, DC, has been arrested and charged with Terroristic Threats in connection to multiple bomb threats yesterday. MPD continues to investigate these incidents with our federal partners.— DC Police Department (@DC Police Department) 1644502123
Eight predominantly black schools, including four public schools and four charter schools, were evacuated Wednesday afternoon after receiving anonymous bomb threats. Police responding to the threats cleared each school and did not find any hazardous materials, authorities said.
The targeted schools were Dunbar High School, Theodore Roosevelt High School, Ron Brown High School, KIPP DC College Preparatory, IDEA Public Charter School, Seed Public Charter School, McKinley Technology High School, and Friendship Public Charter School.
The multiple threats came just one day after Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, was escorted out of a Black History Month event at Dunbar High School by the Secret Service because of another bomb threat. A police investigation did not find any sign of a bomb.
Authorities are working to determine if the bomb threats are connected to recent threats made against several historically black colleges and universities across the country, including Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. At least a dozen bomb threats were made against HBCUs on Feb. 1, the beginning of Black History Month.
The FBI identified six "tech savvy" juveniles as persons of interest in their investigation, and NBC News reported that a law enforcement official said the suspects appeared to have racist motivations.
The MPD said it is working with the FBI to determine if the threats made against the D.C. schools are connected to the threats made against HBCUs nationally, WRC-TV reported.
"This is preliminary. So I can't say with any certainty it's not related to recent threats with the historically black colleges, but our partners at the FBI Washington Field Office will work with us to kind of decipher what we have here and make those links — if any. But at this time, it doesn't appear to be related," MPD Executive Assistant Chief of Police Ashan Benedict said.