While much of the legacy media has downplayed or dismissed crime in Washington, D.C., on the heels of the President Donald Trump administration’s crackdown, one journalist decided to speak out about a horrific attack that changed the course of her life.
President Donald Trump announced the federalization of Washington, D.C.'s police force a few days ago, an unprecedented move taken by no prior U.S. president. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb condemned the move, insisting there is "no crime emergency" in the nation’s capital, and many liberal pundits and mainstream news outlets have suggested Trump is overreaching.
New York Times reporter Peter Baker called it a "nonexistent crime crisis," while CNN and MSNBC filled their shows with guests to slam Trump’s move. A variety of outlets harped on data that violent crime in D.C. is down by 26 percent this year, and many others insisted the move is simply a "distraction."
In 2020, during the early stages of the COVID pandemic, Anna Giaritelli took a Saturday morning stroll in what she believed was a "really safe part of town" near Union Station, only a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. At the time, Giaritelli covered crime and civil unrest for the Washington Examiner, but she had no idea she was about to become a victim herself.
"I was randomly attacked by a homeless man and fought with him for my life and survived. And that event has had a significant impact on my life, changed the course of my life," Giaritelli told Fox News Digital.
Giaritelli was injured and sexually abused during the horrific attack. Police used DNA found on her clothing to determine that the suspect was a repeat offender and already in their system. She said he was finally arrested "months later" and a "judge chose to release him onto the streets" before his trial.
Giaritelli planned to live in Washington, D.C., for "decades," but the harrowing ordeal changed her plans. She first moved to another part of town, hoping the distance would allow her to remain in the city, but frustration continued to grow.
"Through the year and a half that we waited for our case to go to trial, this man was arrested five more times, including for wielding a machete on Capitol Hill. And the judge chose in all five times to release him from jail back onto the street," Giaritelli said.
"I didn't feel protected by the judicial system. I didn't feel safe in Washington, D.C. because of these decisions by the courts," she continued. "And so ultimately, I had to take my own safety into concern, and I left D.C. with nowhere to go really, trying to figure out how to start a life and what that would look like somewhere else."
Giaritelli believes the police worked extremely hard to put her attacker behind bars ahead of his trial but the decision by the court "enabled him to victimize more and more people."
"I found out at sentencing that he [assaulted] an off-duty police officer, a woman, several weeks, months prior to what he did to me. So, this was an individual that had a clear trajectory and as much as police wanted to keep him off the streets, the courts would not let them do that," Giaritelli said.
"He was sentenced to federal prison in 2022," Giaritelli continued. "He has since been released from federal prison and to my knowledge is back in Washington, D.C."
"I wanted to be part of the solution," she said. "I think the Trump administration recognizes ... this isn't a one-off. This is a mass problem that we've seen for years."