The New York Times’ Peter Baker says Washington, D.C., is safe — but a growing number of Americans want him to prove it.
On Tuesday, Baker disputed the very real notion that the capital is dangerous. He slammed the Trump administration for sending in National Guard troops and federalizing the city’s police force to restore order.
“Citing a nonexistent crime crisis, Trump plans to take over the Washington DC police and put troops in the streets of the nation’s capital,” Baker wrote on X. “Contrary to his claims, violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low.”
Citing a nonexistent crime crisis, Trump plans to take over the Washington DC police and put troops in the streets of the nation’s capital. Contrary to his claims, violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low. @katierogers @campbellnyt @ChrisCameronNYT https://t.co/w101allO91
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) August 11, 2025
Baker predictably pivoted to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion as an example of danger — ignoring the hundreds murdered in the city since that day by criminals and thugs.
The worst single-day crime spree in modern Washington history, of course, took place on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump issued no order to the National Guard to intervene — Mike Pence did — and later pardoned the perpetrators.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) August 11, 2025
That’s what New York Times reporters do. They twist facts to oppose sanity in government.
Independent journalist Tom Elliott wasn’t buying it. He challenged Baker to walk a particularly dangerous route through the city at night and live-stream it.
“I’ll personally pledge $300 for Peter to livestream himself walking the following route, unarmed, after 9 PM on any weekend night,” Elliott wrote, posting a map of the route on X.
I’ll personally pledge $300 for Peter to livestream himself walking the following route, unarmed, after 9 PM on any weekend night https://t.co/vVNA9vK9MA pic.twitter.com/Cdy8q3bgGk
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 12, 2025
He then launched a sarcastic but very real (and now-deleted) GoFundMe campaign with a blunt premise: If D.C. is as safe as Baker claims, he should stroll through it after dark.
The campaign description read, “They say Washington, D.C. is enjoying a 30-year low in violent crime. Sirens? A lullaby. Streetlights? Just mood lighting. And ‘crime crisis’? Pure fiction.”
Elliott’s “mission” invited Baker to walk a “Trail of Fun” with “no security detail. No pepper spray. Just pure, unfiltered utopia.”
Elliott even offered to double his pledge if Baker would send his wife in his place.
Perks for meeting funding milestones ranged from a GoPro for “crystal-clear night footage” to “gold chains so he walks in style.”
All money was to go to the charity of Baker’s choice. The GoFundMe had raised about $1,800 of its $3,000 goal as of Wednesday morning.
Baker did not immediately respond, but GoFundMe weighed in on the issue by removing the fundraiser from its site.
“Sad news, friends,” Elliott wrote in a follow-up post Wednesday. “@gofundme has canceled our attempts at supporting Peter Baker [to] perform some intrepid journalism in service of the less-advantaged.
“According to the email I just received, the fundraiser was canceled because such an event was deemed … ‘impossible.’
Sad news, friends. @gofundme has canceled our attempts at supporting Peter Baker perform some intrepid journalism in service of the less-advantaged. According to the email I just received, the fundraiser was canceled because such an event was deemed … “impossible.” Seems they… https://t.co/lzx8wzo7rW pic.twitter.com/FF076iPTmc
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 13, 2025
Elliott concluded, “Seems they have a more realistic view of the murderousness of D.C. than Peter ‘Non-Existent Crime Crisis’ Baker.”
Baker can cite relative crime all day, but for the person mugged or raped, or for those grieving a murdered loved one, relativity is irrelevant.
Democrats running D.C. are accused of cooking the books on 2024’s crime data.
Washington NBC outlet WRC-TV quoted Fraternal Order of Police Chairman Gregg Pemberton last month as saying, “When our members respond to the scene of a felony offense where there is a victim reporting that a felony occurred, inevitably there will be a lieutenant or a captain that will show up on that scene and direct those members to take a report for a lesser offense,” he said.
“So, instead of taking a report for a shooting or a stabbing or a carjacking, they will order that officer to take a report for a theft or an injured person to the hospital or a felony assault, which is not the same type of classification.”
If Pemberton is correct, the situation is probably worse than anyone imagines.
If Baker wants to lash out at Trump and boast about D.C.’s safety, he should prove it — or shut up.
He won’t, because the truth is simple: D.C. is dangerous after dark — and often in broad daylight.
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